Ishi Ishi no Mi
by ClosetCase
Summary: Nyiji is just a girl seeking the truth amidst the chaos thrust upon her. Trafalgar Law is just a man with revenge to enact. By happenstance, their journeys collide into a whirlwind of adventure, treachery and betrayal that will push their wills to the limit and force unto them decisions where life and death hang in precarious balance. Law/OC. Violence/language/sexual content
1. Chapter One

_Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, obviously, but I do own my original characters and content contained within. (you will also only see this disclaimer once.)_

 _Author's note: Alright, so shaking off the nerves and finally ready to start posting again! It has been a very long time since I have written and published anything online, but I have been working on this story since early 2017—and thanks to Razbliuto who is absolutely right about it being time to take a leap of faith, I am finally posting it. So, I hope you all enjoy what I have been working on. I have a long outline and a good amount of this story pre-written, fairly (super) over-edited, but with no clear ending in mind yet and I hope you enjoy it! Without further ado, I present, Ishi Ishi no Mi._

 _(All future AN's will be at the bottom of each chapter.)_

* * *

Nyiji let slip a heavy sigh as she worked over the dirty, food smeared dishes in the small basin before her, quickly covering the slip up with a cough as she covered her mouth and eyed the small galley of pirates to see if she had been caught. Most of the men were occupied with their own meals or conversations, but the few eyes that had caught wind of her presence stared back at her, catching her glance and making her stomach turn. She hated drawing attention to herself aboard the ship of unfamiliar pirate mercenaries. She hurried to scrub the last bit of solidified gravy from the white plate, even going so far as to scratch and pick at it with her short nails to make the job go faster.

Nyiji let out a yelp of surprise when two hands enclosed around her waist and hauled her up into the air with ease. She was swept to face the crew of mercenaries all laughing and cat calling her situation. A lump formed in her throat. Beating against the hands that held her did little effect. "Put me down!" she ordered with a shaky voice.

The man spun her in his hands until they faced each other and grinned with a set of yellowed teeth. A long mean scar ran down the front of his face, nearly splitting his skin in two. He looked horrific. "Release me!" she belted once more at his hands.

"Come on _Puppy,_ we just wanted a little peek at you!" the man chuckled. His shipmates bellowed their laughter behind them, someone even slapping their knee as if the scene were too hilarious to endure. "We saw you peek first, you know Puppy, and it's not fair to keep us from having a look ourselves."

Nyiji steeled herself as one of the man's hands slipped down the birth of her hip to squeeze her bared thigh that stuck out from beneath a pair of shorts that afforded her little coverage. The man was grinning like a fool as he fondled her flesh. Bringing one knee back to her stomach, Nyiji defended herself and kicked back her heel at the man's groin. She tumbled to the galleys floor in a matter of moments and the once laughing crew fell silent. Eyes spun back to the front of the galley where their captain, a tall man as big as a stone wall stood in the doorway with a frown set in his brow. He examined the scene and scratched at his cheek with one sausage-sized finger. "W'ats happenin' ere?" his voice boomed.

Nyiji tumbled backwards, sent flying to her captain's feet as a fist hit her square in the face. Pain exploded immediately and rattled her brain. Shielding her face with both hands, a protective gesture, she curled into a fetal position and tried to regain her senses. There was noise coming from all around her but it was drowned out by a ringing in her ears that overtook her senses. Pinching her nose, Nyiji drew her hand away to find blood smearing her palm. She registered her Captain shouting with the men in the galley as they tried to defend their actions along with the man that had initially touched her. Torn away from staring at her bloody hands, Nyiji was yanked up to her feet by her Captain who said nothing, appearing calm and unaffected by her state. She stood by him as she gathered herself, watching and waiting for him to comfort her like he used to, but the actions never came. Offering a small curtsy at her Captain, as he had once told her he enjoyed the action, she then fled the scene.

Out on the deck that was all but empty, exempting a few men tending their stations of the sails, Nyiji found a quiet isolation. She hurried up to the crow's nest, a spot she had named as shelter ever since they had accepted to sail with this crew of hands-y mercenaries. Halfway up the rope ladder that wasn't very sturdy, practically ready to fray into an unpleasant snap, she paused to hang and stare at the sea. She held onto the rope with one hand as her body floated in the air, only connected by a weak grasp and a tiny boot. The wind blew through her hair and caressed her face like an old friend, promising smooth sailing. Her lids fell closed to enjoy the moment and to wash away her terrible evening of dish washing. Climbing the rest of the ladder she found a place to rest in the small circular space of wood, legs dangling between the small railing's gaps. Thinking of the mercenaries below brought a frown to her lips, dark memories resurfacing as she recalled just why they had taken on the strangers into their ranks. It had been a desperate decision made by their Captain to help aid in their escape from an island of hell that had taken the lives of many of Nyiji's shipmates. Only a handful of them had survived, herself and her Captain counted amongst the numbers. Then the mercenaries had joined.

Nyiji pressed a hand to her breast to steel her pounding heart, hating how the memories and thoughts physically affected her still, and wiped at the blood she now felt sticking to her upper lip. Bumping her nose made her eyes prickle with tears, the pain still fresh and stinging but she was determined to clean herself up as best she could without a mirror to aid her. When the pool of men exited the galley below, freed from whatever lecture they had been given (if one had been given at all) she did her best to ignore them. In the past her captain would have thrown the man starboard into the sea for daring to lay a hand on her, but things had changed. Now the crow's nest and its treacherous ladder were her only safety net.

She spent the rest of the evening high up in the air, watching the seas change with the weather. When the ship had finally fallen silent to the night, she snuck back down and headed towards the small bathroom located at the back end of the galley to clean herself up. Tucked behind the small kitchen she often worked in was the washroom, no bigger than a broom closet and equipped with a sink no bigger than a bucket. A small circular mirror hung from a tiny wire, coated in grime that needed to be wiped away before she could use it to examine the damage done to her face. Her expression grew more sour each time she twisted her face left, then right and then back again, examining the bruise from all angles. A deep purple color had already blossomed across her nose and cheeks practically taking over her lower eyelids, quite the stark contrast to her milky white skin. Though it was swollen, she deduced her nose wasn't broken as it appeared to have kept its straight shape, but she wasn't a doctor nor did she know much off-hand medical knowledge. If possible, should they reach a civil island, she supposed she would have to have it checked out by a doctor…

Her thoughts strayed instantly to their late doctor and first-mate, Owens. He had been a good man: cheerful, very sarcastic and always there for even the most minor of cases. He had dedicated his life to their Captain and his goal all while inspiring everyone around him.

"Nyiji? Are you in here?" a voice called from the front of the galley.

Poking her head out from the tiny washroom Nyiji's eyes fell to the ships cook, a lithe man with slicked back black hair and a slowly lengthening beard that hadn't been shaved off like usual. "Killian." she breathed his name.

He smiled crookedly when he spotted her and swung his arms open to catch her as she darted at him between the galley's tables. Stroking her long black hair that had been pulled back into a loose braid, Killian gently set his chin atop her head and sighed. "Cap'n was real quiet tonight. I knew somethin' was up."

Nyiji sighed at the cook's admission, shoulders slumping in defeat. She wasn't much of a fighter, she knew, but she hated that she couldn't even protect herself aboard her own ship. And now she knew that Killian felt the same way. But he couldn't be around all the time. Especially not since the captain had him running more work outside the kitchen to pick up the slack of the new crew. Usually this would have been the job of the first mate, but since the post had been left unfulfilled, Killian had the duty.

Clicking his tongue, Killian tilted Nyiji's head back to examine her pretty face now marred with unnatural color. "W'ich one o' 'em did this?" he asked, his tone level.

Staring at his blue eyes lined by thick full lashes, Nyiji decided to change the topic rather than risk another scene for their captain to chance upon. Scratching his beard, she commented, "You really need a shave. How will you catch the girls with those pretty looks when it's all covered up in that bush?"

Chuckling and withdrawing his face from her reach, he let her sway the conversation away from her injury. "But I only need to catch you, Pup. And I think the beard ain't hurtin' my chances."

They shared a brief laugh then let the silence stagnate. Killian, who practically swam in his oversized shirt tugged at his collar and swept around her to head straight for the kitchen. It had felt like years since he had the opportunity to return to his home and dabble in his love affair of food. Since the captain had given him so many new tasks, Nyiji had taken his place in filling the stomachs of the crew. He wondered if she missed charting and navigating their course.

"How about I whip you up yer' favorite? Bet you are starved!" Killian knew just from the look on her face that she hadn't eaten after serving earlier. She always followed a routine that left her needs for last.

"That would be terrific!" she smiled wide, showing her teeth before wincing in pain at the action. A quick hand to her nose made Killian frown.

Setting about heating up a frying pan with a spoonful of butter, he moved effortlessly around the counters to collect and prepare a dish. Green onions were chopped, eggs cracked and whisked into a bowl, and a small block of cheese (the last of it on the ship, that he figured she deserved more than anyone) was shredded into a hand sized cheese grater and then stirred into the mixture of eggs. Setting out a few small tomatoes, just barely ripe from the vine, he cut into their delicate flesh and chuckled when Nyiji leaned into his space to watch with delight. She loved tomatoes.

"Cap'n said the next island is a day out at best. Bishop says four." The knife cut through the halved tomato, separating it into four small cubes. "I know that Bishop knows these waters better than we do, but I can't 'elp but worry lately. 'e keeps changin' 'is mind, like the islands movin'. Cap'n should o' left the job to you."

Nyiji bobbed her head in reply and snuck herself a cube of tomato when Killian turned his back to pour the eggs into the sizzling pan. He smiled when he turned back around and noticed her cheeks filled like a chipmunk. Casually he grabbed another tomato from the fridge and resumed cutting it to take the place of the pieces being stolen away.

"I think I'll pass some work off, next few days. Come back 'ere, feed the masses. Give you a rest?"

Nyiji swallowed another mouthful of the sweet and tangy fruit and took a moment to answer. She would love a break from those mercenaries, especially after recent events but she also knew how the captain would react should Killian push his duties off to another. They had all been traveling on a thin wire since they had lost their original crew, and Killian now being the oldest member with the most seniority (even though he was quite young) meant the captain needed someone he could trust. "No thank you, Kill. I've already taken your job; don't need anymore 'upgrades' to this background."

It was obvious as soon as she said it that he didn't like her sarcastic reply, and that meant she was fighting a losing battle. Killian never cared much for repercussions once his mind had been made up. A swift hand sprinkled the chopped onions over the golden flat pancake of eggs, evenly spreading them throughout the omelet. It smelled delicious as the cook flipped the omelet over with skill then when ready, folded it in half. Cheese oozed from inside, its cheddar smell hitting Nyiji with full force. Her mouth was watering as she was served the omelet with a dollop of ketchup on the side of the plate for added flavor. He had been cooking for the woman for years now, but his talent for even the simplest recipes still amazed her.

"Eat up, 'fore it gets cold." he instructed with a wave of his hand before proceeding to clean up his instruments.

Nyiji hungrily ate the entire plate, until she was near bursting. The plate then too was added to the chefs cleaning assembly. She noted there were still some dishes left behind from earlier, Killian already elbows deep into scrubbing them. Guilt shadowed her face and her bangs swept down to afford her cover. Fingers twisted into the braid that hung over her shoulder and lay down into her lap.

"Thinking about a trim?"

Startled Nyiji looked up at the chef, her fingers stalled in the bundle of ink colored hair. "Oh no. I'm just tired. I think I will head to bed."

Leaning his weight back against the basin behind him, arms folded across his flat chest he eyed the woman before settling for a brisk nod. He watched her leave before he resumed cleaning and Nyiji exited the galley to feel the full force of heavy winds hit her small body. The sails were flapping wildly in the air currents, and the hull creaked loudly as it began to experience the turbulent seas. Nyiji found herself looking around for Bishop, the strange man who had taken her position as navigator for the ship. He had joined when the other mercenaries had, in fact he had been the one to bring many of the other mercs' on-board in the first place, but the way he had appeared to them in the middle of the night—already aware of the poor and desperate crew, and prepared to offer his services—Nyiji couldn't help but feel wary of the man. The minute he had joined, her captain had become so reclusive, rarely joining them for meals or sparring with Nyiji as he used to. He always thought she needed to learn better defensive skills (and now she wished she had paid better attention in their lessons).

Though Bishop was surrounded in an air of mystery, Nyiji had already seen proof in his skills, having navigated them through sea kings and rocky patches. She wanted to trust that the man knew what he was doing, even if their arrival dates of an island kept changing, she was still sure he would get them there safe. On a personal overview of the man however, Nyiji would first complain about his state of dress (he was always wearing these insanely puffy feminine blue shirts and pants that had padding in the hips to give him an awkward hour glass shape) then, she would complain about his tact. He had none. But for a man who stood out amongst the crew, he was nowhere to be found. Not even up at the helm.

' _Why wasn't he out here, watching the seas, protecting the ship and navigating?'_ She thought.

With an eye on the horizon, Nyiji paused a moment before proceeding up to the crow's nest. The rope ladder moved in the gathering force of the wind and proved difficult to climb, but she eventually made it to the top at a slow pace. Peeking out at the ocean and deciding to spend the rest of the night on watch since Bishop was nowhere to be found, Nyiji settled in. She was a true seeker of the sea and determined not to allow anyone to place them in jeopardy again—even if it meant a little lack of sleep on her part.

When the night reached its darkest and sleep began to win the battle, the seas changed once again into an eerie calm. The moon hung high in the sky, looking down at the ship through a magnifying glass, providing just enough light to see a few feet ahead. Nyiji unfastened a spyglass that had been clipped to her shorts belt, ran a thumb over the engraving 'E.P.' and sat up onto her haunches to peek over the railing. Though she couldn't see far into the night, she swung the spy glass left and right as she examined the black Sea. She couldn't even see below its surface, only able to catch the moons reflection in the glassy magnified eye. Lazily throwing one arm over the railing to rest her cheek upon her limb as a cushion, a rather uncomfortable position when crouching, Nyiji let the spyglass balance in the palm of her hand. Its metal had lost its shine many years ago, but the glass had been kept well-polished and loved. "Guess it's just you and me tonight, dad. Wonder what this next island will bring?"

* * *

A flicker of light caught her attention from far off in the distance, appearing to rotate in and out of sight from within a lighthouse's cage. "Land!" She heard herself shout in excitement, her voice easily carried down to the men below. "LAND!"

A shuffle of bodies collected around the base of the mast, watching as the excited woman slipped down the ladder and landed before them. "What direction?" One crewmember spoke up, his hand tucked in his mess of blonde curls.

"East," she answered as she briskly walked towards the cabin doors, "we need to wake the captain."

"That won't be necessary, _Puppy._ We will alert him when we dock." _Bishop_.

Nyiji clenched her fists at the man's appearance and silently forbid herself from asking what gave the man the right to decide when to wake their Captain. Trust. She had to learn to trust his guidance and ignore his arrogance.

"I t'ink now s'good as ever." They heard Killian's voice call.

Bishop's face soured when he laid eyes on the greasy haired chef who was exiting the galley. Lifting his long nose in the air, he cast a blue menacing gaze at Killian. For one who wore such flamboyant feminine clothing, Nyiji thought, he sure could pull off the aura of an intense overlord.

"As I was explaining to our resident _Puppy_ we will wake him when we dock. We don't need to disturb his rest for _nothing."_

"We don't even know what land we are 'eading towards, we need to prepare!" Killian rebutted. A few of the sailors around them grumbled in agreement.

Bishop flicked at the end of his shoulder length dirty-blonde hair and let out a click of his tongue against his teeth. His fingers glittered in jewels and ring bands of gold, but Killian had already figured out the subtle threat behind them when the other man casually flashed them up as if he was examining his nails. Bishop would not hesitate to fight dirty against any who opposed him, even for such an issue as this, and those fine rings had split more than just skin on other days.

Concerned that another fight would break out, Nyiji put herself between the two men and stole Killian's attention. "It's fine. We will just wait for the Captain to wake up, we can be amicable."

Killian frowned and dug his hands deep into the front pockets of his pants. A few men surrounding them grumbled and voiced their own opinions, yet Nyiji stood firm between the two men until they finally gave up on each other's gaze. Bishop headed up to the helm, his boots clicking against the decks wood and Killian stuck a finger up at his retreating back.

"O' don't gimme that look," Killian started when Nyiji leveled him with her silver eyes; "You and I both know the Cap'n won't take kindly to receiving this information late." Turning on his heel to stare up at the stairs that led to the helm, Killian felt his lips pull into a deeper frown. "He doesn't make the decisions around here."

Nyiji gently rest a hand on her friends elbow and stepped into his side. "It will be nice to rest on land again though."

The raven-haired man laughed beside her and strung his arm across her tiny shoulders. Smacking a wet kiss to her temple he then walked away laughing, leaving her behind slightly bemused from his actions. Casting a fleeting look at the cabin door that sat to the side of stairs that led up to the helm, Nyiji decided it would be best to leave the situation as it was and chose instead to wander the deck until light began to blossom from the water's edge. As the sun rose a clearly defined island began to become clear. She could make out small houses built out of brick and wood, all painted different bright pastel color and beautiful stretches of white sandy beach. Tall trees sprouted out from the earth on the shore line, with spiky leaves that weighed down the tree so much they curved down in various angles. It was beautiful and welcoming. As others took in the sights themselves, the ship came alive with excitement. They had been traveling the waters for too long.

A door swung open as the commotion from the men rose and light shone down to illuminate the great wall of a man as their Captain stepped out from his chambers—Rook Alistair, a blonde, bearded half giant. His took a moment to gaze over the crew before Killian leapt to his side to explain the situation. Nyiji couldn't make out their conversation but knew that the chef was probably voicing his irritation about their new navigator. Their Captain would nod every so often, his blue eyes shut as he listened and when Killian appeared to be done talking, Alistair gestured with a giant hand for the chef to call the crew close for instructions, signaling a second after with a crooked finger for Nyiji to join them.

As she neared her captain, Bishop arrived with a haughty sway of his own. A smile was stretched across his face as he shared news of their arrival, explaining what details of the island he knew. "The locals call the island Moorham. Typical summer weathers, very rare to get storms out here so sailing out won't be a problem. There's a low military presence as well."

"Any shipwrights ya' know of?"

Bishop bobbed his head in reply and placed his chin in his hand for a moment of thought. "None personally. Heard of a few offhand though."

The captain nodded and focused his attention on the gathering crew members. With a wave of his hand he immediately grabbed everyone's attention and spoke in a deep voice, "Fi'rst priority be ship repairs! I expect no trouble from any o' you or gettin' paid 'll be the last thing ye' get!"

A few grumbled but otherwise joined in the 'Ayes!' with the rest. "Ah right! Disperse! I want us dock'd in tha' hour!"

Nyiji stayed close as others went back to their work stations. Bishop remained behind as well, his eyes on the small woman. His stare made her feel a little unnerved. She turned her attention back to her captain, intent on keeping herself strong under the other man's wandering eye.

"Bishop, we'll talk la'er," Alistair shooed the man away, "I 'ave business with Nyiji 'ere."

Bishop looked hesitant to leave them alone but acquiesced to the order, leaving to the ships helm again. Once alone Nyiji immediately brightened up, smiling and bouncing closer to her Captain to better converse with him. "Sir, isn't it exciting? The island looks so tropical!"

"Pup," he started, "I 'ave somethin' I need ya to do."

Nyiji felt her mouth pull into a frown as she finally took in her Captain's appearance without interruption. Though large and imposing, his haggard face was now set in a constant stoic expression. His once booming personality was now restrained and serious. He looked physically weathered, and though she knew after the horrors they had experienced that he _should_ look this way, it still startled her. He had changed, become introverted. No longer did the man divulge his secrets with her, his worries and his joys, but now she felt kept at arm's length.

"Of course, Alistair." Nyiji winced when her Captain's expression turned sharp from his first name being used. "What do you need done, Captain?"

Ushering her to follow he led her through the cabin door that took them down a small staircase that opened up to the crew's cots, then all the way to the back of the room where his own quarters were located. Once inside his room, Nyiji took a deep breath to welcome in the smell of parchment and rum and to rid herself of the scent of sweat and human BO that clung to the cots in the other room. It had been a long time since she had last entered her captain's quarters, and the changes were quite drastic. He used to obsess over keeping it tidy, everything in its place, but now his mattress was left bare, covers strewn on the floor beside it. A spilled oil lamp had been knocked over and just left behind, currently soaking into the bedding on the floor. His desk that once sat at the far left of the room had been pushed closer to the door, nearly tripping her when she first walked in. She didn't even want to mentally comment on the scrapes she noticed on the floor that were obviously created from the desks continuous movement of barricading the door when he was locked away inside. His personal effects (scrolls of parchment, casks of rum, and beautiful glasses among many other items) had been left on the floor nearest his dining table, as if they had been pushed to the ground on purpose rather than accidentally knocked off. Nyiji even spotted broken bits of glass from one that had shattered. On the dining table all of the captain's weapons had been laid out: rapiers, pistols and daggers. Even the photos that hung on his walls had been torn apart. One that hung over his bed had even been split down the middle, leaving a portion to hang over, revealing a silver safe built and slotted into a hole in the wall.

"Oh Alistair!" she gasped when the door was closed behind them. "What the hell happened?"

He gave her only a grunt in reply, clearing his throat afterwards as he picked up a chair that had been left on its side near the table. He gestured once to the resettled chair for her to seat herself then moved to tear off the last bit of paper that covered the silver safe over his bed. Nyiji took the seat and patiently waited as he spun the dial this way and that before popping its door off with a quiet click as the lever was pulled.

"Can ye get tha'?" he waved his hand out as his head remained hidden behind the safe's door.

Nyiji turned in her seat to try and see what he wanted her to pick up but was unable to ascertain just what he was referring to amongst the mess. When she failed to respond, Alistair pulled back from the safe with his hands full of coins and jewels and took them to the table where they were unceremoniously dropped. Some coins rolled off the table, others clicked against each other as they were left in a heaping pile. Grabbing a small burlap sack and throwing it into her lap, Alistair returned to the safe to collect another item. When he turned back to face her, Nyiji was already half finished with scooping the beli and jewels into a sack, completely focused on her task and ignorant to the item in his hands.

"I need ya tah' keep 'old o' those until the shipwrights paid... and this."

Nyiji looked up from the sack to watch her Captain's hand unfurl and reveal a small strange yellow fruit. There were curves and little prickles sticking off of the thing in all directions, somewhat reminding her of a pineapple, yet holding the shape of a tomato. "Wait!" she gasped as she got to her feet in shock, "Captain! Is that a devil fruit?"

She was across the room in seconds, her hands wrapping around the prickly thing. It turned in her hands, around and around as she examined it. Disbelief filled her as she wondered how on earth he could have obtained it and kept it secret all this time that they had sailed together. Their eyes met when Nyiji finally looked away from the fruit. His blue irises were filled with guilt and sadness as he watched her, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He looked resigned to some dark fate, and the thought alone made Nyiji feel like throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"Alistair, how did you get this?" she whispered, now acutely aware of the silence between them.

"Don't be askin' me tha' Pup. Jus' keep it safe. No one can know ye' 'ave it."

Nyiji looked down once more at the fruit in her hands and swallowed the lump in her throat. _When had she become so parched?_

"Captain... what am I supposed to do with this?"

Alistair seated himself on his mattress and scratched at his beard. He toyed with the idea of telling her the truth, of telling her that the danger they thought they left behind wasn't really gone but in fact chasing them, that all of it was his fault, but it really only took him a second to throw the idea out. Nyiji was great at keeping secrets, as great as she was at navigating, but this was not a burden she was meant to carry.

"Take it to tha' bottom o' tha' sea if ya 'ave to. Don't let a soul 'ave it."

Nyiji pursed her lips and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "You aren't going to eat it?"

For the first time since they entered the room, he laughed. It was full and cheerful, just like old times, but it didn't last very long. Pulling his tricorn off the top of his head and laying it in his lap, Alistair shook a hand through his own dirty-blonde locks and sighed. He pointed then at the small porthole where they caught a glimpse of the islands docks for the first time. She could see some of their recently hired crewmembers wandering the docks, moving amongst workers that were hauling cargo and discussing payment for any boats that planned to stay docked for a period of time. Nyiji knew this was his way of changing the topic, but she couldn't quite understand why.

"Alistair. Tell me what is going on." She pressed.

A fire blossomed in his eyes then. Alistair stood to his feet and glared down at her as she shrunk back into her chair. "Captain Rook. Tha's my title, Pup. I expect ya to remember tha'."

Nyiji felt as if she had been slapped by the formality he was pressing on her. Blinking back tears she nodded at her Captain and slipped from the chair to stand. At least giving herself a little more height to his made her feel a little better, even if she was drastically shorter than the towering man. Tucking the devil fruit into the burlap sack she curtly nodded and escaped from the bedroom at once. When the door shut behind her she felt the weight come down on her and completely sour her mood.

Kicking once at the floor helped settle these emotions, helped her gather the items up into her arms and helped her make the short trip back to her bunk that had been shoved behind a corner wall that stuck out for privacy. A curtain helped close the area in, maintaining privacy from the men on-board for Nyiji and the only other female crewmate, Cyrus—who spent ninety percent of her time manning the helm as of late (Nyiji had guessed the reason for this was in fact Bishop) and so this afforded Nyiji more time alone at her bed. Shoved opposite the bed was a thick dresser that left a few inches of space free between the bed for both women to move in and out. This usually made it a challenge to access personal items and clothing, but she had gotten plenty of practice with this. Closing the curtain to secure her privacy, Nyiji sunk to the floor and opened the drawer that belonged to her, letting the sack filled with coins and fruit fall to her side. The yellow peered out at her from within the bag, staring at her as she pulled out a fresh outfit and a small black satchel that had a clasping lock hanging off its strap. It was the perfect thing when she needed to keep anything hidden on her person as it attached to a garter belt and laid relatively flat against her hip, which was easily covered up with a pair of shorts and a lengthy tank shirt. Rolling up a pair of nylons that stretched up into a half diamond shape on her upper thigh, after her clothes were changed, Nyiji secured them to her garter belt and pulled back on her only pair of boots. It was time to explore a brand-new island.


	2. Chapter Two

Pulling into the dock, the giant ship rocked unsteadily against the current as a boarding plank was dropped over the side. Workers dressed in light clothing to accommodate life by the sea waited patiently as the giant Captain Rook exited the ship first, towering over them all by a few feet. He shuffled slowly down the plank, footsteps echoing and causing water to reverberate below in soft pools. The first person to react was a slim man that held a clipboard between his arms and rib cage, knees knocking together as he walked. Though accustomed to pirates appearing at their docks, the workers still looked intimidated by the group that departed from the slowly sinking ship.

"W-Welcome to Moorham Isle, will you be stay—staying long?"

Alistair leveled the man with a blue stare and scratched at his thick beard before he rolled a hand in the air and gestured back at his boat. "Long 'nough fer repairs… Are there any shipwrights available?"

The man nodded, his fluffy white hair bouncing atop his head like a sheep's bob. The two gestured back and forth as they conversed over where to locate an available shipwright and haggled over a docking fee, before the Rook pirates were finally allowed to roam freely into town. Nyiji stuck to her Captain's side as they left the docks behind, ignoring a gaggle of mercenaries and heading straight through the pastel colored town, down long winding dirt roads. Many civilians decorated the streets, paying no mind to tourists that flocked to their paradise. A few times Nyiji nearly wound up separated from Alistair as she stopped to view the women's skimpy bikini's and summer wear, dressed to beat the heat.

"You can explore after we have finished our business." Alistair reprimanded her after she caught up to him.

She puckered her lips in shame and dropped her chin, "Yes sir."

A short distance through the town, close to the edge of a large stretch of beach sat a series of square shaped buildings all setup along a wide pier. Each building was a dark brown with wide green painted doors that opened in an upwards fashion, housing ships and unfinished bows, all ready and waiting for the sea outside. Men worked loudly over the clattering and banging of metal against wood, heard from a distance away. Inside the furthest building where lumber laid outside stacked in a neat pile, they finally found a shipwright willing to assist them. An elderly man that claimed eighty years' experience under his belt and boasted he could finish any repairs needed in half the time—if he had a crew that was. Inquiring for more details, Alistair listened as the senior explained all of his employees were currently busy with work and if he were to assist the pirates, he would need some form of extra help to even think of completing a repair in a timely fashion. After a short discussion about manpower, the three set off to return to the docks where their ship waited and an examination of the ship's damage was completed.

Returning to them once finished with a dark look over his wrinkled features, he took slow hesitant steps towards the half-giant. It was clear to Nyiji before the man even opened his mouth to speak that the results would be unfavorable.

"It'd cost a fortune," he started, "and I would need more hands than I originally thought."

Alistair nodded as he looked over the small holes that were taking on water at the side of his ship and the torn sails that had been rolled up, secured by thick leather straps.

"How long would it take?" Alistair asked as he shifted weight between his feet.

The old man rubbed at the small spike of a beard on his chin in thought for a moment before replying. "If I can get some hard workers and they have any talent in their bones, less than a month."

"And yer price?"

The man continued to rub at his chin, eyelids shut and head tilted towards the hot sun as a long silence passed between them. "1 million beli should cover the costs."

Nyiji audibly gasped as she tried to mentally count out the numbers of coins in the burlap sack. _Surely not one million…?_ She shared a look with her Captain that did not go amiss with the little old man.

"If you can't afford it, we can strike a deal?"

"I'm listening." Alistair raised an eyebrow, curious as to the man's motives for offering a deal to pirates.

Shaking as he moved, the elderly shipwright clapped his hands together happily. "Oh good! Good! You see, I've been low on workers since many of our men took off to join the navy. If you can spare some of your men, just a few, we can work on a discounted price."

"For 'ow long?" the captain questioned.

"Long as you are here." He replied.

Sealing the deal with a firm handshake, Alistair instructed Nyiji to pay the shipwright upfront who was more than happy to accept half the coins from the sack. With the bag's weight decreased, she glanced down at the sum, ignoring the flash of a yellow fruit, and wondered how the rest of it would be spent. Likely her Captain would want them to take care of lodging first and any other urgent supplies, but it left her wondering if he'd even considered the mercenaries payments. Without their coin, they would be liable to jump ship at any moment. ' _No, he would have already thought of and taken care of that.'_

Waving her to follow after him, Alistair led them further up the docks where a few of their crew members were waiting, having returned from a scout of the town. They quickly explained that they had found a little tavern just up the main street that housed a small hotel upstairs, run by the bartender and had already taken care of securing their lodgings. Keys were handed out and short directions were given before the Captain split from them to return to the ship, declaring he would be staying there while everyone else resided on land. Watching the giant leave, Nyiji felt her face fall. He had truly taken to isolation since their escape, a fact that brought with it an unhealthy amount of unease. Knowing better than to follow her Captain back to the ship when he was brooding, Nyiji choose instead to follow after the clamor of men as they headed towards the aforementioned tavern. The chatter of excitement over being on land again went right over her head.

"Say, Pup. How's your face doing?" a brunette with an oblong head asked her.

Having forgotten her injury, Nyiji's hand automatically flew to touch her nose only to retreat as pain once more swept through her sinuses and skull. Her eyelids squeezed together as she winced.

"There's a local doctor here." The brunette offered with pity. The bruising had really blossomed in color on her face and looked much worse than it actually was, practically taking over her thin cheeks.

Nyiji nodded and thanked the man for his information. "I'll stop by after we check in for the rooms."

Following the dirt roads, the group ended at their destination, a structurally tall building with very thin windows and a tavern on its main floor. Inside a wall of noise hit them as locals and pirates merged. The smell of sweat and alcohol was pungent as people moved against each other just to get anywhere. At the bar an overworked man dressed in flannel directed them to their rooms upstairs before returning to his thirsty customers. With five floors in total, Nyiji found her room on the third level, farthest from the staircase and towards the end of the hall. As she walked, her fingers trailed along the walls, feeling all the bumps in the yellowed floral wallpaper move against her skin. When she reached her room, flagged by a solid metal plate labeled with the number '33', she unlocked the door with a small brass key and slipped inside to find another occupant already seated on one of the two beds.

"Pup! What the hell happened to you?" the woman spoke up, punctuating her words with a snap as she closed her book. She sat crossed legged with her chest thrust out, posed as if she were expecting the company of a man and dressed for the occasion to boot. Barely covering her dark skin was a band around her bust line and a pair of shorts that barely covered anything.

Nyiji stared at her for a moment in shock, slightly dumbfounded that she hadn't even thought about the prospect of sharing a room again, though she should have known better. Being the only two women aboard a ship of men, they were often placed together.

"Cyrus." She breathed, finally addressing the other woman. "I didn't realize you would be up here—I mean, I thought you would be downstairs."

The older woman flipped a set of colored braids over her shoulder, the varying colors looking like a moving rainbow. "Well I'm not. I'm up here. Now close the damn door! Don't just stand there with your mouth gaping and your face dumbed up!"

Without waiting for her crewmate to take action, Cyrus swept across the room with all of the grace in the world and slammed the door shut before returning back to her seat on the bed. With her long legs it barely took her more than three strides in all. Picking her book back up, she flipped open the green leather bindings and found her place once more, letting the words wash away Nyiji's presence. The sound of pages turning filled the room alongside a pungent silence that grew thicker as the seconds past. Knowing better than to bother the other woman when her nose was in a book, or really at any point in time, Nyiji quickly unlatched the burlap sack from her hip and stashed it beneath the second unused bed before leaving the room. Heading back down the stairs, she pushed through the tavern's occupants, nearly tripping over a man in a strange boiler suit on the way, before exiting outside into the warm weather. Sunshine fell around her and Nyiji lifted a hand to briefly shield herself from the rays only to bump her nose again, reminding herself of her crewmates earlier comment about a local doctor being close by.

"Guess there's no time like the present." She muttered as she stared at her hand to make sure she hadn't given herself a nosebleed on accident.

By the time Nyiji had found the local doctors office and escaped with a few white pills for the pain and an even sorer nose from the man's prodding, the sun had begun to set, creating a beautiful orange horizon. Uncertain about whether to return straight to the inn to rest or check in on her Captain back at the ship, Nyiji chose instead to wander the quaint little town until she could make up her mind. Enjoying window shopping for little trinkets and spending most of her time eyeing up a cart of ripe vegetables that a young woman was selling at a corner street, she enjoyed her time in the little pastel town. Resisting thieving herself a few treats and carrying on down a lone street, Nyiji eventually found an interesting spot near the beach where a guard rail of stone separated the sand from dirt. Yet that wasn't the most eye-catching thing, no that belonged solely to a giant yellow submarine docked a short distance away from the shoreline. The vessel appeared to have a strange converted double deck at its front and a giant smiley face painted on the side, grinning at her from afar. Many men surrounded the machine, chatting loudly with one another or singing old shanties out to the waves. Before she knew it, a smile had taken over and she had wasted the midday away watching the strangers.

"Beli for your thoughts?"

Fingers stuck untangling her braid, Nyiji turned around to face Killian as he approached. Nervously, she tried to reset her braid back into its original shape but eventually gave up when the strands of hair just wouldn't sit right.

"Oh, you couldn't afford it Kill." she joked.

The man smiled and moved to her side, standing up on his toes to greatly exaggerate looking out at the men and their submarine. "Prob'ly righ' about tha' one, Pup… Still, I don't think it's 'ard to guess." Turning towards her, Killian wiggled his eyebrows up and down, sticking his tongue out when she playfully smacked at his chest. "An' here I thought I had no competition!"

"I did warn you to shave that mess off." she swirled a finger in the air to indicate his beard.

Killian scratched at the tendrils of hair on his face and eyed the woman as she returned to staring down the men near the water. He felt his gut clench as she smiled. Jealousy and a possessive feeling bubbled up in his chest, quickly fueled by guilt as he realized it was all stirred by her simply enjoying a moment of peace from watching strangers out on a beach.

"Best keep to ourselves on this venture, Pup... Cap'n had some fool barkin' up the wrong tree earlier... 'parently some of the crew had others' questioning 'em too."

Nyiji did her best to keep her eyes focused dead ahead as she replied, "What questions could we be asked here?"

Killian swallowed as he tried to find the right words with which to answer her. They hadn't really talked about it since their escape, none of them had. Deciding to be as forward as possible, he answered, " _The island_. 'parently, someone's looking for information about it."

She froze. Her feet felt rooted to the spot and her mind cried out for the memories to stay quiet. When she felt water hit her face, she rubbed it away with a quickness. ' _Had it started raining?'_ A quick glance upwards at the sky told her it hadn't.

"How would they know to ask us, let alone here, on this island of all places?" Her voice cracked unintentionally and she turned away from the raven-haired man.

Killian looked down at his shoes and gave a non-committal shrug that he knew went unseen. "Best guess is the mercs' ramblin' when we first picked 'em up. Loose lips n' all... but Cap'n sent 'em on their way. We just need the rest of the crew to keep quiet and—"

"And it will all be forgotten? A thing of the past?" Nyiji roared, spinning around to face her friend with a fury he hadn't seen before. But as quick as it was to rise, it was just as quick to die as she apologized and all but tripped over herself to run away from the situation. "I didn't mean that!"

"It's OK, Pup." He couldn't meet her eyes. "Let's just head back to the inn. Could use some sleep."

The walk back was filled with an impenetrable silence until the wall of noise inside the tavern welcomed them into its embrace. It was a lot less crowded than the first time Nyiji had arrived but still filled with many patrons drinking to their hearts content. Tables had been taken and no chairs remained available. Even the bar was crammed, the poor bartender looking like he was working the longest shift of his life. Understanding and feeling the same way, Nyiji parted from Killian and headed straight up the stairs to her room. _Wallpaper was still bumpy_. Unlocking the door and entering the room, she was met with the sight of bare skin and a collection of moans, something she would never un-see. Covering her eyes and turning away still couldn't ease the sight of Cyrus practically devouring a man on _her_ bed.

"What the hell Cyrus!" Nyiji yelled over her shoulder, eyes still covered.

She could hear a rustle from the bed covers as the couple moved, and then a heavy object hit her in the back of the head. Glancing down she marked the item as a pillow.

"We're busy! Unless you want to join, get the hell out!" Cyrus slurred from the bed, her mouth still occupying the man's body.

"Uh-I-...oh! S-Sorry!" she heard the man squeak out between smacks of Cyrus's kisses.

Nyiji quickly exited the room with her pillow in hand. _When had her night taken such a wrong turn?_

With a look at the dead empty hallway, she resigned herself to sleeping out on the floor, dropping her pillow and following it down. "She could have at least given me a fucking blanket," she cursed. "I mean for fuck sakes!"

As the noises from the bedroom droned on, Nyiji finally found a peaceful slumber on the cold floor. No nightmares or scares found her that night and she kept on in blissful unconsciousness until she was awoken by her roommate's socked foot jabbing her none to gently in the rib cage.

"Come in, meet my friend."

Twisting around, Nyiji looked up with sleep encrusted eyes at her rainbow haired crewmate, taking in the other woman's unruly state before twisting back around into the tight ball of feeble warmth that had kept her going throughout the night.

"I met your friend well enough last night, thanks." Nyiji sourly replied, trying to ignore another poke at her back.

Cyrus glared and sent a harsh kick to her roommate's back, her mood lightening a little when the inky haired girl got to her feet and rejoined them in the bedroom. The man sitting inside looked quite embarrassed, and rather anxious to leave when the two women returned. Tied up at his waist was a familiar boiler suit that Nyiji recalled seeing before, and covering his torso was a simple black shirt. She was glad to see him fully clothed this time. Snow-white hair tousled and mussed beyond belief, the man bowed his head towards her as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He really didn't fit into the usual image of Cyrus's typical trysts—she usually went for much bolder, toned men, but Nyiji supposed the boyish looking man had to of had some charm to lure the Amazonian woman to bed.

"Uhm, hi." He awkwardly stood to greet Nyiji, reaching a hand out to politely shake hers, before withdrawing it when she made no move to return the gesture. He shuffled from foot to foot, face growing redder than before.

"Nyiji." She introduced herself, uncomfortable with the situation as well.

Cyrus laughed at the two as she sauntered to the bed to sprawl across it lazily. "Wait," Nyiji gaped, pointing at the hat atop Cyrus's head, "What the hell is on your head?"

"Isn't it just darling?" Cyrus grinned and fiddled with the penguin-esque hat sitting on her head. Flaps resembling flippers hung on either side of her cheeks, and a giant name plate with the word 'PENGUIN' sat on its white stomach, it was even complete with a red pompom at the top, much like a cherry on a sundae. Cyrus wiggled her toes at the man, sending him a sly wink as he coughed into his arm nervously.

"Uhm, I'm—"

"His name is Penguin, like the hat," Cyrus thumbed the nameplate, "Don't you think we need to make one of these for the Captain, Pup?"

Nyiji eyed her roommate as the Amazonian talked over her conquest. She could tell that Cyrus was enjoying the discomfort in the room, loving the opportunity to stir the pot. Choosing not to feed the fumes and make the situation anymore tense, Nyiji addressed the man to ask, "Penguin? Is that _really_ your name?"

The man nodded and gingerly rubbed at the back of his head, glancing over at his stolen hat wistfully. _He hoped it wouldn't be too difficult to get that back..._ "It is. I heard you're a navigator?"

"His crew's been looking for someone that knows the seas around here." Cyrus added, "That's how we met!"

"Looking for a navigator?" Nyiji felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. ' _Were these the men that had been questioning their Captain and crew about the island?'_

Penguin shot the other woman a look of exasperation that Cyrus returned with a shrug of her cocoa skinned shoulder. Wringing his hands together, he tried to find his tongue, stuttering all over as he spoke: "W-well I heard that you—I mean, well—that Bishop took your position—or I mean, you used to be the navigator for your ship. I figured since—or well, assumed you would be free to perhaps help us out before we set sail again?"

"You seem quite familiar with our crew." Nyiji returned a glare at the rainbow haired woman who was clearly unimpressed with the tone she was taking. ' _So much for everyone keeping quiet… Kill will love this.'_ She thought sarcastically.

Tossing her pillow at her bed, barely missing Penguin's shoulder in the process, Nyiji bent down to quickly secure the burlap sack she had stashed the night before. Once it was safe in her hands, she bolted for the door. "I don't know these waters. I suggest you look for someone else, perhaps _Bishop._ "

As the raven-haired woman exited, her braid swaying down her back with each step, Penguin audibly sighed and slumped into the bed sheets. He was in over his head and Cyrus certainly drove that point home as she climbed onto the bed and settled over him, straddling his waist and settled him with a bright grin.

Nervously, he asked. "S-so... could I get my hat back?"

* * *

Nyiji slammed the door closed on her way out, muffling a conversation that she wanted no part of. Since her talk with Killian, a bubble of rage had been building inside of her, and after encountering Cyrus's flavor of the night, it felt like it was about to burst. She spent a few moments pacing the hall, toiling over whether to return and scream at her crewmate for her loose lips and indiscretions (and for making her sleep on the floor outside of their _shared_ room) or hopping onto the next boat leaving the island. The end of that thought was all it took to deflate her though. She couldn't ever consider the possibility of leaving her Captain behind, even Killian, though she would never openly tell him that (and face those repercussions) it would be too hard. Nyiji had sworn her life to the Rook pirates, had been to hell and back with them and cemented an oath into herself to abide that—and she was more than aware that such an oath included holding her tongue. Even if that meant she couldn't rip Cyrus a new one.

Checking the contents of the bag and confirming it hadn't been touched, Nyiji finally made her way down to the docks to find her Captain and Killian in a discussion as a handful of men from their crew worked alongside the elderly shipwright on repairs.

"A month is still a long time." Killian spoke as he watched the inky haired woman approach, giving her a brief wave of welcome before returning his hands back to the front pockets of his pants. Refocusing his attention on his Captain, he continued. "I say we get 'alf the crew workin' on it one week, swap the others in next week. Maybe get night crews goin'. We could finish repairs in 'alf the time."

Alistair nodded somberly as he kept his focus on the men working. "Get it done."

While Killian gave her a nod of confirmation, her Captain nearly knocked her over with a sharp glare for interrupting them. "Don't ya 'ave more important matters, Pup?" Alistair asked her.

"Oh. I... well, was hoping to offer my help with the ship."

Killian laughed and leaned into her personal space as he snuck a glance down at her lithe body. "Manual labor, huh? I don't know. You 'ave trouble liftin' a dirty fryin' pan."

"I do not." she disagreed, hands on her hips as she instinctively puffed her chest out in defiance.

The chef quickly covered his instinctual glance down with a cough, turning away from the two with the hopes his Captain hadn't noticed the leer. "Course not, Puppy."

"Go with Killian." Alistair grumbled without looking at the shorter woman, his fuse significantly smaller since her arrival.

"Alright..." she agreed solemnly, following after Killian as he headed back up from the docks towards the dirt roads that led into town. "Hey Kill!" She called, grabbing onto his elbow to slow his pace. Looking down at his side, he smiled brightly and waited for her to continue. "Does the—is the Captain angry with me?"

She could tell right away that the question had caught him off-guard as his face blanched and body became rigid. He recovered fairly quickly, to his credit, resuming a slow walking pace and lazy demeanor. "You know things 'ave been different since... _that place._ We've got all these merc's on board just to get us sailin' again. 'es got to be careful is all."

"That wasn't your best dodge," she teased, "Has he talked to you? Answer me seriously, Kill."

Killian sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck, stopping in the middle of the street and letting his eyes wander over onlookers that were eyeing the pirate couple. They were typical civilians that turned away as soon as he made eye contact, so he paid them little attention. It wasn't uncommon for strangers to stare at them like that, always fearful about the dangers of what two unlawful persons could do. Swiveling his gaze back towards his partner, Killian caught a pair of piercing ochre irises a way up the street, unflinching and determined not to look away even when it was clear they were caught. ' _How long has he been watching?'_ Killian thought.

As if reading Killian's thoughts, the stranger cloaked in black vanished within the shadows of the building he had been leaning against, disappearing completely from view as a door was slammed open, a small collection of women pouring out. Not wanting to draw attention to his sudden discomfort over a stranger's gaze, Killian grabbed a tight hold of Nyiji's smaller hand and pulled her along the road at his side, intent to redirect them away in another direction.

A gentle pull on his hand reminded him that he hadn't answered her yet, and he swallowed. "The Cap'ns been quiet, Pup. We need to be the same."

Nyiji did her best to contain her disappointment with Killian's response, lips pursing tight. Since Owens had passed away there had been subtle changes in the other pirate's behavior—the most frustrating being his developed silence in any matters involving their Captain. When they were younger, the two used to gossip together about the older shipmate's business nearly every day. They lived for trouble on the open seas and the stories that came with it. Killian had sworn when he had turned ten years old, that he would be the one to make the seas bloodier than any pirate that had come before him—at least that was what he had wanted at one point, _but now…_ now he seemed lost to Nyiji. Jiyan Island had taken something from him, more than just their friends and family. If she thought about it, about the exact moment he had changed, she could put her finger on the horrible memory of watching Owens perish, trapped underneath a burning tree, writhing in agony from the blisters that burst across his skin from the licking flames. Killian had screamed himself hoarse, and she had struggled to pull him away and keep him from throwing his own life away. It had been horrific, and while Nyiji hadn't heard Owens last words herself, whatever they had been, they had sealed Killian's faith in their Captain. Whatever was going on with Alistair Rook, his emotions, mental state, or plans were not about to slip from the chef's lips: _Even if it were as simple a secret as being cross with a certain young navigator…_

"Well, if there is anything that I can do..." she offered quietly, barely hearing the words herself.

Killian spared her only one glance which confirmed that he would be feeling guilty the rest of the day before ushering her back inside the busy tavern. This time there were very few patrons so Nyiji had time to examine the interior as the chef went to each table to speak with the few available crewmembers about work schedules for the ship's repairs. While he was busy, Nyiji looked over the numerous paintings and photographs that had been hung up all over the walls. The only thing the decorations seemed to have in common was that it had all come from locals within the community. It reminded her a little of the hallways back at the orphanage. Caught examining an abstract painting of what appeared to be an old historic building, Nyiji didn't notice the man she had met earlier in her shared room as he snuck up to her side and joined her in staring at the artwork with a faux pensive expression.

"I think the artist was definitely thinking about takoyaki when they made this!"

Jumping in freight Nyiji looked at the man, then at his ridiculous hat. "Penguin?"

Grinning from ear to ear that he had been remembered, Penguin gave a quick wave in greeting. "Hi! You remembered my name!"

"Kind of hard to forget, really," she answered honestly as she looked at the nameplate pasted on the stomach of the penguin hat. "Are you heading out?" She asked him politely.

Penguin shook his head once and bashfully turned back to the painting. "I'm just waiting until Cyrus gets back. She asked me to wait around... but—uhm, actually she did mention I might find you returning here again. I just didn't think so soon—not that it's bad you're back!"

Nyiji tried to force a smile and calm the man's nerves, "Were you wanting to speak with me again?"

Penguin let out a loud sigh of relief as his head bobbed up and down. He had always been terrible at talking to women on his own. "Yes!"

"Did you strike out with Bishop?" she wondered aloud, genuinely curious as to why the mercenary wouldn't readily give out the information. She was certain these pirates looked to be paying customers for the matter.

He ducked under the shadow of his hat then, stroking a finger at his baby-smooth chin in thought. After a moment of pause he nodded and looked back at the woman warmly. "We did, unfortunately he d—doesn't know the area… we are heading for..." Nyiji nodded along with his speech, quietly examining his every word, stutter and pause for an underlying meaning. "Uhm how about a—erm… drink? Would you like a drink?" he offered, holding his hand out to guide her to the empty bar.

"Oh, sure." She accepted, following his lead to the mahogany stained bar where the bartender stood scrubbing down some pint glasses.

They each awkwardly took seats at bar stools that had seen better days, neither looking directly at the other. Penguin asked for her preference of drink before he leaned over the counter to order two local ales from the bartender, a wide waxy looking smile on his face. From where they sat, Nyiji turned to look over her shoulder for a full view of the tavern. She could see all the way past a collection of tables, where she noticed Killian glancing her way, and over to a sloping walkway leading down from the front door. A felted pool table was setup to the far left of the entrance, separated from the rest of the taverns space by a lone pillar that supported the ceiling. On the wall behind the table, Nyiji could spy a rack housing splintered pool-cues and a series of newsletters and fliers for daily specials that had been pasted onto the wooden walls.

"Do you play?" Penguin asked her suddenly as he caught on to where she was staring. When she looked back at him dumbly, he reiterated, "Pool? The table over there, I saw you—erm I mean, I just noticed you were looking."

"Oh, I don't," she started as their glasses of amber liquid were laid out in front of them, already cool to the touch and perspiring. "I've tried my hand at it, but the hand's not so talented."

Smiling with pride Penguin took a large gulp of his beverage and explained that he happened to be very talented at the game, "haven't lost a match yet!" he added, "well, except for once against the Captain. Quit challenging him after that!"

Nyiji smiled as he laughed heartily, eyes twinkling like a child on Christmas morning. ' _I bet this look was what got Cyrus_.' She thought.

"So how long have you been a pirate?" she asked before taking her own mouthful of the amber liquid. The taste was like heaven to her taste buds, and immediately warmed her chest and cheeks. "I mean, you _are_ a pirate, aren't you? I don't mean to assume…"

Penguin slapped his thigh as he chuckled and nodded in confirmation, pointing at the breast of his boiler suit for her to get a better look at the mark; a yellow smiley face looked back at her from within a circle that had six protrusions that all faced in their own unique direction like a compass. "Going on eleven years now! Came from Swallow Island with a few friends. We decided to sail the seas together, call ourselves the Heart Pirates!"

"Here in North Blue?" she asked, leaning back on her stool in thought as she mapped out the areas she knew about in her mind.

Penguin nodded and exclaimed, "Right! South of Minion and Rubeck! You know your seas!"

Nyiji shrugged a shoulder and took another greedy sip of her drink. She never would have thought after their first uncomfortable encounter that they would be sharing a drink and good conversation, but she felt rather comfortable around the other pirate. "I was so excited to sail the seas, started young," she explained while cupping her hands around the cool glass. "And I grew up drawing, so charting came naturally. It didn't take long for the love to build."

Penguin hunched over the bar with his elbows on the countertop as he locked eyes with the woman. "So how come you aren't navigating anymore? Cyrus mentioned that Bishop guy took over your position..."

Nyiji nodded without thinking, cheeks flushed from the alcohol. Though the words came out, her attention focused forward, finding solace in the racks of bottles and the engraved wooden shelves that housed them. The swoops and curves etched into the wood were an interesting decision for a bar that doubled as an inn and helped to distract her.

"There... was this place. It was hell. We lost so many, we were down to barely a handful of us… just floating on boards in the sea… when we got to land, we did what we could to get sailing again. Captain brought on Bishop; he was the only one who didn't ask for coin, just the position." Penguin swallowed as he watched the woman's face darken to match the horrible bruising across her nose. He didn't dare interrupt her while the liquor loosened her tongue. She looked back at him with glassy silver orbs, "I don't even know how long we were floating for. It took us so long just to get to here."

A cough interrupted and startled the two at the bar as they turned their focus onto the intruder.

"Kill!" Nyiji shouted, hand on her breast and mouth agape. "Scared the crap out of me!"

But Killian wasn't focused on his impaired crewmate, but rather the lithe man beside her who had physically bristled upon his arrival, nervously touching the brim of a penguin hat. "I don't think we've met." Killian's voice dripped in poison, his eyes narrowed and leveled on the other man.

"This is Penguin!" Nyiji introduced, oblivious to the tension, "He bought me a drink!"

"I noticed, Pup. Time to finish up."

Furrowing her brows, Nyiji glanced between the two, finally picking up on the murderous intent coming off of her raven-haired crewmate. Offering Penguin an apologetic face, she downed what was left of her beer and slipped off of the stool to Killian's side, hooking her arm around his while putting herself between the two men like a barrier.

"Thank you for the drink, Penguin," she said politely. "I'm finished now, Killian. Let's go upstairs."

Penguin offered a quiet wave goodbye as she was carted away to the stairs.

"That wasn't very nice, Kill." Nyiji spoke up once they were alone. _'When had the inn added an extra step?_ ' she wondered when she stumbled on the stairs heading up.

"I told ya not to talk to anyone." He replied as he helped her up to the fourth floor, stopping in front of his room. "What the 'ell was that?"

As he fiddled with unlocking the door, Nyiji began to untie her long braid, letting the frizz expand from its once tight hold. "It's hot!" she whined, ignoring his question in favor of fanning herself.

"How can you not hold your liquor?" Killian snapped in exasperation, shoving her into his room with both hands on her shoulders to keep her steady.

Once released from his hold, Nyiji flipped her hair unceremoniously to hang over her face and front, her entire body bending forward before flipping back into a more natural stance. The action made her a little dizzy but provided some relief to the sweat collecting on her body. To Killian though, her actions made her look like a shaggy dog that had just gotten out of the bath, shaking itself to rid its fur of suds and water.

"What did you tell him?" he asked as he shut the door behind them.

"He offered me a beer, Kill." She flippantly waved her hand. "I asked him how long he had been a pirate. That's it."

"That's all?" he sighed in relief, running a hand through his slick backed hair.

"He is apparently a master—pool smith? _Pool man?_ Knight of Pool?"

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Killian examined her drunken state with a frown. Just a single glass of beer had turned her into a mess; face flushed, long hair pooling around her body in a mess that ended at her thighs and nose darkened purple from a bruise that highlighted her dilated pupils. Whether she was aware of her slip ups or not, he couldn't really find it in himself to be upset with her when she looked like this.

"Just get in bed," he ordered with a point of his finger. "I've got a lot to do without watchin' your drunken ass."

Nyiji giggled as she climbed into his bed. "Like shave your beard?"

* * *

 _Author's note;_ Apologies, editing this took a lot longer than I anticipated. Think I might have gone cross eyed. I'm hoping from this point on to post updates once a week which should give me enough time to edit while continuing to write future chapters for this story.  
Thank you for the story follows as well! Means a whole lot to me! I was very nervous about posting this, so it helped calm my neurotic tendencies.


	3. Chapter Three

"Funny running into you here!"

Looking up from the rack of clothes she had been thumbing through, Nyiji spotted her mystery caller. "Penguin?"

Smiling as he crossed over to her, hands stuffed in the pockets of his boiler suit, Penguin greeted her. The front of his suit had been left unzipped due to the islands summer heat, revealing the familiar black shirt that he had worn when she'd first met him. It appeared he had even managed to wrangle his hat back from Cyrus.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a quirked brow.

It had been a few days since the two had shared a beer together, or even seen one another though not for a lack of trying on her part. Nyiji had wanted to apologize for her crewmate's behavior, but Killian, (knowing her well enough to deduce her intentions) hadn't left her side for even a moment, effectively keeping her apart from the other pirate. A part of her had worried that she had offended the snowy haired Penguin when they'd failed to even make eye-contact when Cyrus would sneak off to spend a night with him. This was the last place she had expected to see him.

"Oh, I am just shopping." He smiled; rocking on his heels as he awkwardly looked around the empty store for her guard-dog.

"In a woman's clothing shop?"

Penguin flushed when he caught Nyiji's smirking expression that reminded him of the sultry ' _cat with a bowl of cream'_ stare Cyrus had given him upon their first meeting. Certainly, Nyiji could give the Amazonian a run for her money with that look alone.

"Well uh—you see, it's—it's not... I'm not shopping for... _me_?" he winced as the words came out pitched, as if he were asking her for confirmation on the believability of his lie.

"Oh. Buying Cyrus a present?" Nyiji's smirk immediately faded as she thought of the other woman and how easily she wrapped a man around her finger.

"Oh! No, no!" he quickly corrected her, "Oh no, I'm not here for Cyrus!"

Nyiji bobbed her head, a little confused with the turn of the conversation. "Another girl?"

Floundering, Penguin flailed his hands in the air, as if to clear up the misunderstanding. "No! There's no other woman—oh but I mean, it's not like that with—not to say _I don't_ –oh but it's not, _not_ that—but!" Fiddling with the tag on a loose-fitting beige shirt, Nyiji silently hoped the man would quit trying to repair the awkwardness between them. "I was actually walking by—I saw you, inside. I... wanted to see you."

Startled by the revelation Nyiji felt her cheeks burn. "See me?"

"I was worried I had upset you, I—well, I didn't know how to approach you though. That other guy was always around, and you were never with Cyrus at night—" as if realizing he had made a slip-up, Penguin bit his own tongue and yelped in pain.

Flailing backwards, he knocked over a few rows of clothing aisles, tangling his limbs in soft cottons and silks as he went down. Nyiji let out a cry as she tried to grab at his falling figure, missing his hands as he hit the ground with a loud crash. The shopkeeper, a young woman with fiery red hair, stormed out to locate the source of the ruckus, yelling at the male when she found him.

"We're sorry!" Nyiji tried to offer the woman as she helped Penguin back to his feet. His face was aflame with embarrassment as he too apologized.

"Just get out of my shop!" the shopkeeper hollered. "Out! Out!"

The two quickly fled out the door, the bell jingling behind them. A few passerby's shot them curious looks as they passed, some muttering about the scandalous behavior of " _kid's these days!_ "

"I am never going to live that down." Penguin sighed as he fumbled with his hat, re-securing his snowy locks underneath it.

"It was only just us that saw it, don't worry. I won't tell." Nyiji jabbed his shoulder playfully, smiling at him kindly.

"Just us? —oh! Ya, just us, right!" Looking up and down the street twice, Penguin folded his arms across his chest and sighed. " _Well—I guess, there's no helping it now..."_

"Helping what?"

"Oh, uhm," he floundered for a moment, words escaping him before his eyes caught onto some passing children. "Well, no helping this heat! Would you like to get an ice cream? It's my treat, after this disaster."

Penguin smiled and took in her face, eyes ghosting over the bruising around her nose and cheeks that had finally started to clear up, making it significantly easier to see her features. He watched her twine her fingers into the long braid that hung over her shoulder as she tossed his offer around, debating whether or not to accept. With Killian gone, having been pulled away to join in with the ship repairs, there wasn't anyone around to stop her from spending time with the other man. She had promised to stick close to port by only popping into a few clothing stores, and not to share anymore beers with strangers, so it wouldn't really be breaking her word by going for an ice cream; it wouldn't be that far from port and technically a food item hadn't been unapproved.

"I would love an ice cream" she beamed.

Flooded with relief over her acceptance, Penguin led them further into the pastel colored town where numerous cafes, bakeries and other food amenities lined the streets, decorated with painted caricature's. On the path, Nyiji spotted a small little bookstore with two fat pigs sharing a book, pasted to a bay window and another little shop adorned with depictions of cakes, pies and brightly colored stars. Across the way, there was even a building decorated in endless hand-prints.

"This island is amazing," she thought aloud. "I wish I had grown up here!"

Penguin smiled at the woman as she admired a building's artwork. "What was your hometown like?" he inquired.

Sparing him a side glance, Nyiji considered sharing the information of her childhood. No one had ever asked her that question, not even after she had joined the Rook pirates. Her lips pursed. Still, there wasn't much about it she cared to remember right now.

"Not a lot of fond memories, actually." She finally settled on, finishing her words with a bright smile to belie the admission.

Sensing the subject was best left alone, Penguin tried another topic: "So that fellow from a few nights ago…"

"Killian?"

"Ya, him. He didn't seem quite fond of you spending time with me—is he your...?"

It took a moment for Nyiji to understand what Penguin was insinuating as he drifted off at the end of his sentence. "Oh! No! God no! We're just frie—we are just crewmembers. We grew up on the ship together. He is our cook."

Penguin snapped his fingers as he was finally able to put a face to the man's name and title. From what he recalled, Cyrus had said Killian was close to their Captain but not worth approaching. "Ah! Cyrus mentioned him once."

Stopping in front of a little ice cream shop, he held the door open for her before following inside. A cool blast from the shop's air conditioner hit them, bringing an instant relief from the humidity outside and both pirates audibly sighed. There were a few other locals already inside, picking out different flavors from above a glass case that housed a variety of different ice creams: chocolate fudge, mint chocolate chip, strawberry banana, pineapple surprise, tiger tracks, sea salt and chocolate, vanilla and toffee. Nyiji felt her mouth salivating as she counted them all.

When it was their turn, Penguin ordered himself a basic chocolate cone before turning to his companion to find her starry eyed and ready. With the mannerisms of a child in a candy shop, she ordered a cone with three scoops. "Pineapple surprise, sea salt and chocolate, oh and can you top it with the strawberry banana?" with each choice, she pointed to each flavor.

"How will you eat all that?" Penguin asked as she was served with an overflowing amount.

"You start at the top and work your way down!" she replied with a cheer, latching her mouth onto the highest scoop of ice cream after she had answered.

Penguin laughed and paid the man behind the counter. With dessert in hand, the two headed back out into the summer heat to begin a slow pace back to the spot they had met.

"So, I was wondering," Nyiji swallowed a mouthful before continuing, "down at the beach, is your ' _ship'_ right?"

"The Polar Tang!" he exclaimed, nodding.

"But it's a submarine, isn't it?"

Penguin nodded again and paused in his steps. "Our pride and joy! Would... you like to see it?"

Nyiji stopped a few paces ahead of him and took a rather large bite of her ice cream, nearly toppling the cone over in the process. A mixture of color dripped down her hand and onto the ground in a slow trail. Licking away the sticky treat from her lips, she took a moment to examine the nervous pirate as he shifted from foot to foot and picked absentmindedly at his shirt. He was clearly on edge, occasionally glancing up and down the street as if he expected someone to pop out of the shadows any moment. Penguin's body language was a huge contrast to the casual way he spoke to her, which sent a warning bell off inside of her. Trying to act as naturally as she could, so not to warn him that she was alerted to his behavior, Nyiji kept an eye on him as she took a bite of her ice cream.

"Why not tell me more about you, Penguin?" she said instead of answering him, effectively changing the topic with the hopes it would settle her own worries. "You're an interesting one, you know. Where did you get that hat?"

Looking down at his own slowly melting cone, Penguin let his mind wander back to memories of his village and a pretty young girl that had led to the creation of his namesake. "My friend—Shachi and I, growing up were bullied a lot. We weren't real good at fighting back then, but we were determined not to lose to anyone."

Nyiji watched him recount the tale, head tilting up towards the sun with shut eyes and a soft smile. "Well I met this girl—she was beautiful. Always smiled at me whenever I came around, but she had a few older brothers that didn't care much for me. Shachi thought it was hilarious though, the faces they made whenever we stopped by, so he was always pressuring me to go visit her whenever we could."

"Did she like you too?" Nyiji asked when there was a pause in his story.

He shook his head and looked back at her, still smiling though the answer was hard to get out. "Don't know, never found out. One night, after I got the courage up, I went to see her on my own but her brothers caught me."

Leaning forward onto the toes of her feet, ice cream cone nearly toppling over at the angle, Nyiji intently listened with the hopes that his story wouldn't end in tragedy. "What happened then?"

"Got my leg broken pretty badly," Penguin answered. He rubbed at the back of his neck, fingers sliding along his skin with the sweat that was rapidly collecting from the heat. "But I got 'em good too. I was in the hospital after that for a while. She came to see me nearly every day while I was in rehabilitation—that's where 'Penguin' came from. Well, she said I waddled like one."

Nyiji grinned as she mentally pictured the young man waddling on a broken leg. "That's so sweet. Did she make you that hat too?"

"Nah, that came from Shachi." He laughed. "Shortly after I was released from the hospital, her family moved away and Shach' thought it was a good keepsake. Ever since the name stuck."

Placing a finger to her lips, Nyiji let out a soft hum as she tried to think of the man's real name. "So then, what _is_ your real name?"

"That's a secret, only Shachi and I know." He winked at her curiosity.

"Awe come on! What about your friend then? Where is he now?

Penguin thumbed the Jolly Roger on his boiler suit proudly, "With us!"

"So, he's one of the friends you mentioned before. Who you formed your crew with?"

Penguin nodded as the two began walking again. "So, what about that nickname of yours?"

"Mmm?" Nyiji hummed as she continued devouring her cone, already down to the second scoop of sea salt and chocolate. The color was quickly staining her lips.

"Cyrus is always calling you Pup. I was just curious where that came from."

"Oh!" she gasped in acknowledgement, "My last name!"

"Is Pup?"

"Puppy." She corrected. "Crew can take it a bit literally at times though. Cyrus especially..."

"So, Puppy Nyiji," He reconfirmed with her as if she were telling him a joke. "I really would never have guessed that."

Nyiji nodded absently as she stopped mid-step to examine their surroundings. They had long since passed the 'shopping district' of town and were now surrounded by unfamiliar homes all guarded by white picket fences and towering rows of flower bushes. A little startled, she spun around in the direction they had walked from only to find it unrecognizable. _Where had they ended up and how far from port was she?_

"Everything OK?" Penguin asked her when he spotted the panic on her face.

"I don't know where we are." she answered, looking at him now with worry.

Taking a look around, Penguin found he too wasn't too familiar with their route. "Uhm—oh... well, no problem. We will just retrace our steps. We didn't take any turns, right?"

"You don't remember?" her voice had gotten an octave higher as her panic rose.

Nervously fidgeting with his hat, Penguin too began to worry. "No, no. I'm positive we just walked straight... just, follow me?"

Somehow, they managed to get lost about three or four more times before finally finding their way back to the tavern just as evening fell. "I swear we will laugh about this at some point," Nyiji promised him as they entered through the front door and made it down the platform. "Just not yet..."

Penguin, who had only ended up panicking around the fifth wrong turn that had landed them up in some weird cul-de-sac, merely shuffled in embarrassment and sourly replied: "This town is a lie."

She burst out laughing at his remark, attracting a few stares and wandering eyes. Playfully slapping at Penguin's shoulder, Nyiji led them through the tavern's crowded lower level and up the set of stairs to her shared room. Having spent the entire day with him, Nyiji could safely say that she enjoyed the slender man's company. He reminded her in many ways of a young Killian, but with a lot more charm to spare. Secretly, she even envied Cyrus's luck in snatching him up first. If only the Amazonian woman wasn't so possessive of her ' _toys'_ and Nyiji wasn't so knowledgeable of what she _did_ with them.

Unlocking and pushing open the door, the two entered and cheerfully greeted Nyiji's roommate when they noticed her sitting on the bed, arms crossed over her chest. Judging by the soured look on Cyrus's face, she had been waiting for them for quite some time, her foot tapping impatiently on the floor. Uncrossing her arms, Cyrus pointed to a small clock that hung on the wall between the two single beds. Nyiji knew that face and winced, knowing a storm was coming.

"Do you know how long you've been gone?" she questioned the two, "Not only are you wasting _my_ time, but I just spent the past hour dodging the Captain's inquiry of your whereabouts, _Pup._ You think I enjoy that?"

Nyiji offered a bashful smile as she watched Cyrus turn her cheek up for Penguin to peck as he crossed the room. Timidly, Nyiji asked her, "The Captain's been looking for me?"

Cyrus nodded and turned an eye onto Penguin as he seated himself beside her, nervously twiddling his thumbs while hoping he wouldn't be dragged into the conversation. His shoulders sank when Cyrus finally addressed him. "And out with another woman all day, should I be jealous or have your intentions changed?"

Penguin waved his hands in front of him in defense, "We were just... _talking_. My intentions are the same!"

Cyrus smiled when he sighed. She really enjoyed how easy it was to set him on edge. Her brown eyes twinkled in delight, "I don't know, sure seems like your interest in our navigator is a lot stronger than your interest in _me._ And here I thought I was helping you out."

"Helping him out?" Nyiji interrupted the two, lips pulling into a frown. She really had wanted to ask in a more delicate way, but the thought had just slipped out. Cyrus shot her a look of pure venom and Nyiji felt grateful for the physical distance between them. Whenever it had come to digging information out of the Amazonian, those that sought answers usually left with a black eye and a beer splashed in their face. She had seen it enough times to know better, but that still didn't stop Nyiji from wanting to know what details were being shared between the two and unless she asked, she would never find out.

Penguin shifted on the bed, arms crossed over his chest as he darted looks away from the two women that he had unintentionally found himself stuck between. Noticing his discomfort, Cyrus teasingly pulled at his cheek and nuzzled her face against his, while laughing with enjoyment.

"Well, let's just say it's for grown-ups. No Pups allowed."

Penguin had the good sense to look apologetic as Cyrus leaned into his side and batted her eyelashes suggestively, effectively cutting off and ending all conversation. Still, the thoughts lingered for Nyiji about what his true motives were. _'Why did he know so much about the Rook pirates after only a few days? Why was he seeking her out? Was it for friendship, or because he needed a navigator?'_ She desperately wanted to peg Penguin as a good guy (or as good as a pirate could be) but there was a lingering worry in the pit of her gut, still rattling alongside the alarm in her head.

"You'll be shipping off in a few days though, won't you?" Cyrus asked him. "I have one day left before I'm on repair duties..."

"So soon? I thought you had three days left before the shift swap?" Nyiji butted in.

Cyrus huffed and waved her hand in a flourish as she spoke, "Cap's gone mad with the expected wait. Wants us off the isle' by weeks end. Now, don't you have somewhere _else_ to be?"

"Oh! The Captain!"

"Yes, the Captain," Cyrus repeated, "So get out and keep yourself sparse tonight."

* * *

Nyiji arrived down at the port just as a cold breeze rolled in off the ocean waves. The tide had risen up the sandy beach and was submerging the wooden legs of the old dock, floating the platform on the water's surface. Their ship sat halfway up the beach a short walk away, surrounded by a crowd of pirates that were working on repairing holes that riddled the birth of the ship's hull. Though the men didn't look happy to be working night shifts for repairs they were ill-equipped to handle, none voiced their opinions as she neared. Most of the patch jobs looked terrible, done with boards that had been poorly nailed on and left to rot from the ocean's salt, but at least it was on the way to being seafaring again.

What had once been the stakes of their railing were now torn off and tossed into a pile that rested in the sand. New thick squares of lumber had taken their place, circling the length of the ship to create a better support system. Five men stood by a pile of wood that was being used to replace the old, grumbling to each other as they handed off supplies in a working line to reach the sole worker that was tirelessly handling the repairs to the helm; a band of rope was tied around his bald head, squeezing the baked flesh tight until his face resembled an angry lobster.

"Where were ya?" a tired Killian called out as he stepped out of the hand off line to approach her. "You went missin' the 'ole day, thought ya promised ta' keep near port?"

Dodging him as she took his place in the hand off line, Nyiji avoided eye contact with the cook as he gave her the stink eye. She had hoped earlier in the day that taking a short trip for ice cream with Penguin would simply be a topic kept to herself but after getting lost with the aforementioned man, she knew she was due for one hell of a lecture.

"Ya hear me?" Killian snapped when she continued ignoring him. "Not jus' me who went lookin' for ye'. Cap'n was right furious!"

"I got lost, ok? But I am here now. Where is the Captain? I'll go report to him now." Nyiji dropped the last piece of wood and stomped past her crewmate, hoping with all hope that he wouldn't follow after her.

"Ya think I'll miss this excuse? ' _Got lost'_? You got great timing with that one."

Nyiji sighed as her hopes shattered. Killian barely had to pick up his pace to keep in stride with her, hands tucked into his pants pockets as he followed her up the plank walk. "Should be up at the helm." he pointed up the staircase to their left.

As they climbed the stairs together, their Captain came into view, nearly drowning in a heavy blue coat that trailed a few inches behind him. Underneath the coat, his clothes had been dirtied and torn by ragged slits that looked as if they had been inflicted by sharp claws. Alistair lifted a clenched fist to his jaw, pressing into the bone until it made a faint popping noise. Nyiji instantly spotted the bruising and raw nature of his knuckles.

"Where were you?" his voice rumbled over Nyiji and Killian as he acknowledged their arrival.

Nyiji nervously bit at her thumb as she tried to hide into Killian's shadow, contemplating how displeased her excuse would make her Captain. "I got lost exploring the town." She admitted, wincing when the Captain swung an arm out to grab at the black cloth of her shirt and drag her out into his view.

"I'm sorry Captain."

Her feet dangled in the air, completely out of reach from the floor. Alistair Rook glared down at the young woman, absolutely livid, while doing his best to forget the image of the young child he had raised that looked at him as if he were a dashing hero ready to save her from the harsh realities of the world. Reminding himself that there was no real reason to be upset with her disappearance, he reeled his anger back in. So long as Nyiji held his treasure, it would be safer the farther she was from him after all. Still, that didn't mean he wanted her completely out of sight. Casting a sharp look towards Killian, he set Nyiji back down to her feet and instructed his subordinate: "It's your duty to know 'er whereabouts."

"Yes sir." Killian nodded and moved off the last step towards a mercenary who had been quietly repairing the wooden wheel while they all talked.

Releasing the collection of cloth from his hand, effectively freeing her, Alistair turned away from those at the helm to look out at the sea with a contemplative look. While his attention was elsewhere, Nyiji did her best to resituate her shirt and remove the wrinkles her Captain had created.

"You'll be 'elpin repairs on the night shift, startin' tonight Pup. Can I trust you not to get lost?"

Silver eyes darting up from her shirt and towards her Captain, Nyiji quickly answered: "Aye, aye. But Sir, Cyrus mentioned you wanted to be off the island before weeks end—"

"Yes. An' I'll 'ear nothin' more 'bout it."

Killian mouthed a ' _you're in trouble'_ behind his Captain's back, a smirk playing across his lips as he watched Alistair rebuke her. Nyiji stuck her tongue out childishly in return.

Waving a hand towards a furled black sail, ignorant to their squabble, Alistair directed her to start work on it first. "The rigging needs re-secured as well." He added.

"But Alistair, I haven't the first idea on how to—" cutting herself off as rage took over her Captain's features, Nyiji bowed. "I'm sorry, Captain. I will work on it."

Hurrying to collect the rolls of black cloth into her arms, she eyed her task with distaste. She had no experience with sowing or maintaining the sails on their ship as the late Owens used to have a few select men that had taken on that type of work throughout the years, so she wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to do to repair the material. A haze covered her eyes as she thought about her deceased crewmates, their death rattles and cries for help momentarily taking over her mind.

Planting a firm hand down on her shoulder, Killian broke her out of her spell with a gentle shake. "Pup, did you 'ear me?"

Blinking a few times to clear her mind, Nyiji looked at the raven that still held her shoulder. This rewarded her with a deep guffaw and another jostle to her shoulder as he repeated himself: "Take that inside. I'll be join'n ya' in a bit."

"I can wait." She offered and the three men shared a look.

Killian answered: "I've got a meetin' with Kizuato and a few others, Pup. T'ink it best ya not be 'ere for it."

It took Nyiji a full minute to place the face to the name, mentally going through the list of mercenaries' until she recalled the awful scar that ran down the middle of Kizuato's face. Painfully scrunching her bruised nose up, Nyiji gave a short nod of acquiesce to the men. Kizuato was the last person she wanted to run into right now.

"I'll see you in the sleeping quarters, Kill?"

"Aye, ye' will." He returned with a curt nod.

Securing the sail in her arms, Nyiji headed down the steps and through the heavy door that led to the crew's quarters. An awful smell of B.O and salt water hit her as she entered, emanating from the dirty bed sheets that hung from roped cots and strewn about clothes; though the ship was being repaired, it appeared none of the crew had any inclination to pick up after themselves. She had to count to three to keep herself from cleaning the room.

"Your job is the sail. Your job is the sail..." she repeated to herself and hauled the cloth back into her tucked away double-bunk.

Squeezing into the space between the dresser and mattress, Nyiji sunk to the floors firm embrace. Wrapped up in the bundle of black material was a spindle of white thread and a tiny rustled needle that had seen better days.

"Perfect. White on black makes the mistakes more prominent. Go me!"

It took twelve attempts and a lot more saliva than was necessary to thread the string through the small needles eye. When she started looping the fabric into the sail's torn seams, the problems only escalated. For every inch of fabric that she tried to piece together, lumps began to form as the fabric bunched and folded up into itself. A few times the thread would simply snap and unravel all of her previous work, leaving her to let loose a slew of curses.

By the time Killian finally joined her downstairs, Nyiji was near tears on the floor. Her legs stretched out underneath the bed, back pressed flat into the dresser and hair completely askew—some of it was even sown into the threadwork. She looked at him with the eyes of a kicked dog, her head turning and bringing with it a part of the sail she'd accidentally attached, that now followed her every move. Killian couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled up.

"Fuckin' 'ell, Pup. That's one 'ell of a patch job!" he teased.

"It's not funny!" she wailed and threw her hands up into the air. "I lost the needle somewhere in this forsaken mess! My thumb hurts!" she held up her injured digit as emphasis, "And now the bloody thing's winning!"

Crouching down to balance on his heels, Killian gently tugged on a portion of her hair that had been fused with the black cloth. He gave it a little jiggle for fun. "I thought women were s'posed to be _good_ at this kin'a stuff?"

Swatting his hand away from her hair, Nyiji resumed her search for the rusty needle. She swore if she got sick from how often that damn thing had stuck her, she would never let their Captain hear the end of it; He would pay her medical bills!

Pointing a finger at his face, she threatened him. "Don't you mouth off to me right now! That beard won't live another day!"

Killian gave her a toothy grin and scratched at his furry cheek. Settling in beside her on the floor, he too began searching for the needle. "Come now, don't threaten a man's livelihood. Especially when I came down to 'elp."

Nyiji felt her cheeks round out as she swallowed a big gulp of air. To Killian, she looked like a pouting child who had been denied a cookie. He gave her one poke in the side of her mouth, not even sparing a look as she dramatically let the air spill out.

He plucked the needle out of a stitch. "'ere it is!"

Snatching the needle from his hand, she tried to rethread it, squinting at the tiny hole as if it would make it an easier target. "So why were you meeting with Kizuato?" she conversed as she kept splitting the end of the string apart. She slicked the ends back together with another lick of saliva.

Killian absently gave his beard another scratch and rolled his shoulder around in its socket. He felt a gentle pop. "Cap'n had some words for 'im."

Nyiji let out a cheer when the thread went through the hole. "About what happened in the galley?"

"He was the one that hit you?" His voice raised an octave.

A sigh escaped and the sail was dropped as she turned her attention to the raven-haired chef; his face was a deep shade of maroon. Hoping to soothe him: "I'm fine, Kill. No need to lose your head."

It was obvious to the both of them that her words weren't enough to quell his rage. Killian hadn't wanted to let it go before either, but like always, he bottled the emotions up to deal with another day and changed the topic. "We were talkin' to him about talkin' up our travels to some other crew. Apparently one of Bishop's guys had overheard it which is the only reason we put two and two together…"

"Put together what?" she pressed.

"Well after Kizuato ran his mouth, well… you won't believe me."

"Believe you? Come on, tell the story!"

Killian slapped a hand to his knee and leaned in to whisper his next words to her, "a bear, a real-life giant BEAR! He comes up to the Cap'n—no, you won't believe me..." Furrowing her brows, she leveled Killian with a stoic expression and urged him to continue his story, tired of him dragging it out. "Alright, alright," he conceded, "so this bear, did I mention this thing's a BEAR?"

"About a hundred times." She replied flatly, though her mouth showed a small slip of a smile that belied a hidden amusement.

"Righ', because you really need tah' understand that a ' _bear_ ' came up to 'our Captain, righ'? And flat out _asks_ fer' the directions to Jiyan!"

Nyiji swallowed at the mention of Jiyan Island, temporarily forgetting her crew mates repeated urgency that she should focus on the word 'bear'... _bear?_

"A… bear?" she repeated before her mind caught up to the conversation. "Wait, a—a bear asked… a bear—"

"Talked!" Killian all but shouted, finishing her thought. His arms flailed at his side mimicking a chicken trying to take flight. "Oh, Pup! It was the coolest thing! Well… until we realized w'at the poor bugger wanted."

"Jiyan?" her thoughts returned to Penguin and Cyrus, whispering together back in the inn's room, sharing secrets and knowledge between them about the Rook Pirates. She recalled Penguin mentioning that they were looking for someone to help them navigate the surrounding waters, but couldn't actually recall if he had mentioned _where_ they wanted to go. "Why would anyone want to go there…?"

"Cause they work for the same guy the Cap'n did, I assume? Or they want to." Killian supplied passively. "Anyway, this bear challenges the Cap'n fer' the information. You should 'ave seen it..."

Forgetting her work on the sail and the pieces still sewn to her hair, Nyiji jumped to her feet in alarm. ' _Had Penguin's crew attacked her Captain for the island's information?'_ biting her thumb, she thought about him, sweet Penguin who hadn't pushed her but clearly knew too much about the Rook Pirates for his appearance around her to be a simple coincidence. She couldn't even lie and tell herself he hung around simply because he enjoyed her company. ' _Had his crewmates gone after her Captain because she'd let information about the island slip? She knew that Bishop had turned him away already, unable to give him knowledge that he didn't have, so did that make it her fault?_ ' Killian's eyes watched her as her thumb slipped from her teeth and her body jerked, prepared to flee like a frightened animal. In a hurry he got up and grabbed her before she had the chance.

"Whoa! Slow down, Pup!"

Forced to stop in his grip, Nyiji thought about the little lie she had given to Penguin about having no idea how to get back to Jiyan, with the uncertainty about the direction the sea had taken them in after escaping. Had that been what triggered his crew to attack? Had they given up on trying to whittle the information out of her and instead gone straight for Alistair with the hopes a direct assault would prove more fruitful? If that was the case, she had to do something, she had to rectify her mistake.

Stepping onto the sail while trying to wiggle her way free, Nyiji's hair was pulled causing her to drop a glare and cease her actions. "But they attacked Alistair!" she whimpered, hoping her words would free her from Killian's grip.

Forcing her to the ground, kneeling with her, Killian nodded while keeping his voice low. "You think a _bear_ could 'urt our Cap'n?" he shook her a little roughly to get his point across. "Nah! He sent tha' bear back where he came from!"

With a thump to the top of her head, he then began freeing her captured hair from the sail. "Tha's why he called Kizuato. Wanted info 'isself. It's why we're workin' to get off this rock so fast."

"So... we're still... running?" her voice came out so softly he barely caught her words.

Once her hair was free and her emotions had settled down, the two sat uncomfortably beside one another staring at the ripped sail. "You really suck at sewin'."

"Shut up!"

Gathering up the needle and thread, Nyiji continued re-stitching the sail with renewed vigor, listening to the chef's instructions as he coached her through each step. It was an attempt to distract themselves, teasing one another and talking about nothing of importance but at the back of her mind, Nyiji couldn't forget about the attack on her Captain. If they came once, it was likely they would come again and perhaps the next time, they wouldn't send a bear but something much worse. Worrying her bottom lip and finishing the task at hand, Nyiji came to a decision just as Killian finished bandaging her thumb up.

"Killian," she called before he could escape the crew's quarters, his body nearly hidden in the shadows. His face was barely visible from the soft light the lanterns cast in the room.

Poking her head around the side wall, shielding her body's nervous fidgeting, she continued: "Do you think they'll come back?"

Killian took a moment to reply, taking a few steps back into the room so his voice wouldn't carry out to those working outside. "I don't see 'em goin' away, no."

She drummed her fingers on the wood, once, twice, thrice.

"When we... got away... when we met Bishop," she took a deep breath to sort her thoughts before continuing. "Alistair was so spooked, he wanted us on a ship, didn't care about its state. We just...went. He stopped telling me things... Killian, are we running from the pirates on this island?"

Killian crossed the room until there was very little distance between them. His blue eyes traced all the angles and features of her face for a moment. "I don' know what they've got to do wit' the island. But if they want info, means they did'n chase us from there. Cap's just tryin' to put distance between us and them..."

"You want to say it is behind us now, don't you?" she asked.

Killian forced a smile as he looked at something over her head, anything to keep from direct eye contact. He hated discussing the island; it was all still too fresh. If he could emotionally distance himself from the memories, he could trick himself into believing it never happened.

Her thin eyebrows pulled together, looking like two angry lines overtop the vortex of her eyes. "I don't think running from these pirates will stop them."

Killian snapped then, his fist connecting with the wall to the right of her head. She barely flinched, and it unnerved him.

"You wanna' talk 'bout tha' place? You think you're so strong? Actin' like I don' hear you screamin' at night. 'Ave you forgotten who we obey?"

Nyiji dropped her gaze as her face flushed with embarrassment. Suddenly her shoelaces were the most interesting thing in the world, closely followed by the lumpy bag that rested neatly against her outer thigh. "I stand by Alistair, and all his decisions. He saved us, I haven't forgotten that. But I can help send some of the darkness away; I can make those pirates leave us alone!"

"And how do ya plan to do tha'?" he asked her roughly.

"Penguin," She answered honestly, swallowing hard before she continued, "They are lookin' for a map to the island. I can give it to them, send them away."

Killian took a moment to consider the small woman and her suggestion. Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he pushed off of the wall and delivered her some space. "An' how do you plan on gettin' this information to 'em without the Captain knowin' he's been betrayed?"

"I would **never** betray the Captain!" she stressed and stamped her foot on the ground. "I won't even need to talk to Penguin either!"

Killian rolled his blue eyes and continued his stare down.

"You see, Cyrus is with him. I could just give it to h—"

"Blimey!" he cried, hands loose in the air, "With that shark bait!?"

"Jealous?" Nyiji teased, enjoying the slight shift in atmosphere that confirmed the two were back in sync.

Killian wagged a finger at her to indicate she should shut up and rubbed at his temple as if it would help the blossoming headache. "So, it wasn't Kizuato... Pup, this is one stupid idea you have."

"But you aren't telling me not to do it?"

He shook his head as he was nearly tackled to the floor by her hug. Nyiji buried her face into his dirty shirt and breathed in the scent of sea salt, sweat and stewed beef. She missed the sea, and his meals.

"Ibhmavetofghomow" she mumbled incoherently into his shirt.

Removing her from his chest, he asked her to repeat herself. "I have to go now." She reiterated, voice clear as a bell. "Captain only gave Cyrus one night free, so if I have any hopes of getting a map to those pirates, it has to be done now."

"Impossible. Cap'n's outside. He ain't gonna let you go off without a word!"

Chewing at her thumb, she examined the sealed portholes around the cabin, eyeing up the rust that covered them. There would be no way to pry those open but perhaps in another room…

"Alistair's room!" she snapped her fingers as the idea hit her. "I can sneak out through the Captain's window, get done what needs done and slip back in afterwards!"

"I don't know," Killian voiced his concerns. "We may be beached, but how will you get back in?"

"Hey! I'm good at sneaking around unnoticed, remember? That's how we first met after all!"

His lips pulled up as he recalled the memory; It had been late at night when he had entered the ships galley, intent on spending his insomnia on something valuable and getting a head start on the crew's meals. He had entered the room expecting to light a candle, but instead found the room bathed in a faint light from the refrigerator that had been left open. Checking the contents to make sure nothing had been spoiled, he shut the door and took in his surroundings. That was when he had caught the bottom end of a girl digging into a tight barrel used to store creams. Getting her free of the barrel earned him a few kicks to the face and a bruised shin, but with a loud pop, she had tumbled free. The first thing he noticed was that her black ratty hair was soaked and sticking against her red face and wet clothes, the next was her eyes which reminded him of a cornered wild animal. Something he was inclined to label her as after her earlier kicks.

Pointing a pudgy finger at her, he did his best impression of Owens to try and intimidate her. "Oi! What lime bellied snake steals food in the middle of the night from their betters? Now! Now! Snap it out!"

Nyiji trembled like a spooked rabbit so he continued: "Oi! What's yer name an' age, girl!"

"Puppy Nyiji," she answered quietly, "I'm... this many?" she held up all ten of her fingers.

"Wha' you don't know you're ten?" he asked her.

Nyiji shook her head suddenly, getting to her feet to correct him. "no, no, I'm six!" again she held up all ten fingers, shuffling between lowering her thumbs up and down as if that corrected her count.

"Don't know 'ow to count." He chided. "Six is six fingers. One, two, tree', four, five, six!"

The girl watched him as he helped her correct her fingers until both hands held up three fingers each. "Six!" she cheered.

Pulling his eyes from the young girl, Killian looked at the mess of cream that had spilt from the overturned barrel. "And you wasted good food for the crew. You came back wit' the Cap'n, didn't you?" she nodded. "You 'ink he'll be pleased wit' tha'?" she shook her head. "Well... I'm twelve, tha' makes me your better! so I'll punish you instead! Tha' means you come 'ere every day and learn to cook for the crew, an' I won't tell."

Killian ran a hand through his hair and broke himself from the memory. She smiled at him then just as she smiled at him now, even age couldn't change that grin. "I seem to recall catching you pretty quick."

"Didn't see me sneak in!" she cheeked him, "An' I got half that milk down first too!"

He sighed as he mentally caved into her whimsical plan. "You see Cyrus, then come right back 'ere. You get me?"

"I gotcha!"

Nyiji quickly bounded over to her Captain's bedroom door and edged it slowly open, fearing if she went any faster that the mess inside might somehow give her away. A desk that had been left jammed directly behind the door squeaked loudly as it was pushed until there was enough room for her to slip inside. Behind her, she could hear Killian telling her to " _be any louder?"_

"I'm never loud, right Dad?" Nyiji whispered to the spyglass at her hip before turning her attention back to her Captain's quarters.

It felt strange and alien being in here without Alistair's permission. Upon their first meeting, the half-giant had earned her undying loyalty and not once had she crossed any line like she was now. ' _It was for his own good though,'_ Nyiji told herself. ' _Once the Heart pirates were off chasing after the island, Alistair would be able to breathe easier. They'd all be able to.'_

Pushing the dresser back against the door, Nyiji crossed the room, stepping over broken glass and empty bottles. A collection of wanted posted had found their way to the dining table, decorated with forks, prongs buried into the wood. One poster in particular caught her eye as she stepped up onto the table, it was of a man with dark raven hair and amber eyes. He was grinning up at her from his place underneath a knife that had been pinned to his forehead. From the numerous gashes that marred the poster, Nyiji could tell that her Captain had taken quite the interest in this one.

"Trafalgar...Law?" she recited the name aloud, testing it on her tongue.

Leaving the poster in its place with a quick mental reminder that she had a time limit, Nyiji crept to the tiny porthole that would have to be her escape route. "It's all in the way you do it." She coached herself, "Just gotta start feet first...but...how to get the feet?"

Nyiji looked between the porthole and the dining table a few times before she moved towards the window, her boots marring the reflection of one 'Trafalgar Law' as she comically fought with the latches sealing the glass. With one big pop the latch came loose and a gust of sea air breezed along her face, rustling her bangs.

"Feet first!" she reminded herself as she grabbed onto the window and hoisted herself up.

Slowly inch by inch she squeezed her legs out, temporarily getting stuck at her hips—which took a lot more force to get through—and then slipped up to her bust, where again, she faced more problems. Arms set straight ahead, Nyiji flailed and kicked until she finally slipped out and fell into the sandy beach below.

Taking two deep breaths before she was off running into the night, careful to avoid being seen by working crewmen, Nyiji made her way back to the tavern. Her feet carried her straight to the door of her shared room which was right where she found Cyrus, sprawled out on the bed where she lay alone, looking quite perturbed until her head lifted towards the opened door.

"Where's Penguin?" Nyiji choked out through heavy pants as she tried to collect her breath, eyes darting around the room. "He's supposed to be with you."

Cyrus rolled to her side and flipped a row of multicolored dreadlocks behind her ear, selecting a pink and green colored strand that she then twisted around her finger. Pencil thin eyebrows creased together above chocolate eyes, chin jutting out as she spoke, "Since when was he a concern of yours?" Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Cyrus stood to her full height of seven feet and towered above her much shorter companion. "What are you even doing back here, Pup?"

Nyiji swallowed to try and ease the burn of her dry throat. She wished she wasn't so easily intimated by the Amazonian. It took a minute to decide how to handle the situation before she was darting across the room, collecting a small pen and a pad of paper from the smaller dresser that separated their beds.

"I'm talking to you!" Cyrus stomped her foot on the ground, "What the hell are you doing back here, Pup? The Captain called for you and I am sure your orders weren't to come back here!"

Barely lifting her eyes from the pad of paper she was sketching on, Nyiji answered: "Cyrus, listen. I need your help. It's for Alistair!"

The Amazonian's knuckles clenched at her sides before she lifted a fist and slammed it into the younger woman's cheek. Nyiji tumbled to the floor, her pen rolling away from her. Clutching the pad of paper in her hand, she looked up at her fuming friend and gingerly touched the sore on her cheek. It would definitely be bruising later.

"God dammit Pup!" Cyrus began to pace. "I am not getting in trouble for whatever the hell you are doing. Much less for our Cap'ns sake! Now get the hell out of here."

Moving up to her knees, Nyiji searched the floor for her lost pen while she avoided the glowering woman above her that stood like a stop sign, pointing dramatically at the door. "I… just need you to deliver something to Penguin."

She knew the thunder was looming over her without having to look up; it wasn't the first time she had experienced Cyrus's volatile personality, and she doubted it would be the last. Still, it didn't make sense why Cyrus was refusing to aid her. ' _Much less for our Cap'ns sake!'_ the words rolled around in her head as Nyiji continued searching for her pen. ' _Ah! There!_ ' snatching the item off the ground, she returned to finishing the small sketch before getting up from the floor. Clutching the paper in her hands, she stared at her crewmate and began to plead for her help.

Holding a hand up in a threatening gesture, Cyrus cut her off. "You still don't listen to your superiors very well!" she pointed towards the door. "Go back to the Captain, that's an order, Pup."

"Please Cyrus. I know we mean something to you—"

Cyrus stomped her foot on the floor and reached over to grab the lamp off the dresser, throwing it at the floor a second later. Bits of blue ceramic bounced around the floor at their feet. Nyiji stared at the pieces in silence, waiting for another physical outburst. "Fuck sakes, Pup. I'm not seeing him again. He fucked off back to his crew. I have bigger fish to fry! Just… get out of here, I want to be alone."

"He left?"

"He left and now you should too."

Pushed forcefully out of the room, Nyiji found herself staring at the closed door with its label '33' shining bright against the overhead lights. Instinctively her thumb found the initials engraved into her spyglass, gently rubbing as she tried to think of a solution. She had to get her drawing to Penguin, one way or another. Quick to put her encounter with Cyrus behind her, Nyiji turned and made her way down the hallway.

"What would you say dad?" she asked the spyglass as her feet carried her from the tavern. "Always keep moving, that's what you would say… then… I need to find Penguin, or—"

A thought crossed her mind then, centered on a yellow submarine currently floating in the seas off the beaches of Moorham. She didn't need Cyrus to deliver her drawing, she didn't even need Penguin. Nyiji swallowed as she stood outside the tavern, loud noise blaring behind her that urged her to move onwards and down the dirt roads to the beach, to the submarine, to a mysterious Captain that could be the solution she needed. If Nyiji could reason with him, make a deal that sent them away even if it were on a wild goose chase, she would.

She walked for some time until finally the obscene yellow submarine was in view, along with a few pirates scattered in the sand below its massive bulk. They all wore the same boiler suit that Penguin had, guaranteeing she was in the right place.

"Excuse me?" she called out when she was within their earshot. A few turned to face her, each intimidating in appearance and presence.

The first to get up to their feet and address her was a man thick in the shoulders and about three inches taller than her. He peered at her overtop a grey striped bandana that clothed half of his face, resting just below his lower eyelashes. When Nyiji was close enough she noticed the man's eyes were blank, lacking a pupil and iris, staring her down as she approached. A chill ran up the back of her spine. Surreptitiously Nyiji scanned the area for Penguin, suddenly hoping she wouldn't have to deal with this intimidating man. In vain she realized Penguin was nowhere in sight, leaving her with no alternative.

"Uhm hello, I'm—I… is Pen—or your Cap—no, wait uhm… I'm here on behalf of the Rook Pirates."

The man stiffened as eavesdroppers turned their sights onto their conversation. "You're a Rook Pirate?" the masked man asked in a deep gravelly voice; he sounded like rocks grinding in a heavy current under the sea, so deep it was startling.

Nyiji nodded once as she continued to clutch the paper in her hand against her breast, taking a brave step forward when he remained silent. Flinching when he suddenly shouted at her to leave, lips nearly visible underneath the bandana.

"I'm here to see your Captain." She attempted to stand her ground, even after physically taking a step back from the man's outburst.

He advanced on her as he spoke, "You are not welcome here! Now leave before I gut you on the sand."

Realizing her simple approach was proving unfruitful, she shouted the first thing she could think of that would guarantee her passage inside their ship: "Parley!"

The masked man looked back at his redheaded companion and then back to her, eyes pulled into one of surprise. His companion voiced their thoughts first with a barking laugh: "She's an idiot."

"Yup." Bandana agreed, arms flattening across his chest before he turned on his heel and beckoned her to follow. "Come on then."

The two men led her towards a wooden ramp at the side of their submarine, where she could clearly see the clean paint job of the word 'DEATH' scrawled across the side. An ominous feeling chased her as her foot made first contact with the ramp, and her gut churned—she wasn't so certain this was a good idea anymore. It was as if a black umbrella was slowly stretching over her, covering her in its dark shade rather than protecting her from an oncoming storm. Nyiji stepped up onto the submarine's deck and thought about how furious Killian would be with her for deviating from the plan. Yet if she succeeded, he would have to forgive her. With luck she might even finish with Penguin's Captain and return to her own ship long before Killian ever started to worry.

Her shoes made quiet thumps against the deck, softer than the two men that she trailed behind. A sealed hatched door stood before them that was briskly opened for her, a dark entrance awaiting her. "After you." The redhead smiled, standing back to let his partner lead her inside.

Left with the gruff and slightly off-putting man in the bandana, Nyiji allowed a little more space to slip between them as she took the first few steps down a short metal stairway. Three steps she counted and then they were walking down an elongated corridor, dim lights checkered along the ceiling to guide the way. A few heavy doors lined either wall, but otherwise the narrow space was quite empty and void of traffic. It felt so different in comparison to her own ship where there was always someone around, lingering or working. Perhaps the majority of the crew had gone inland?

Bandana stopped at the third door on the right, scratching at his fluffy brown hair that had been trimmed into a short messy afro. He knocked once against the door before a noise received them to enter.

"It's one of those _Rook Pirates_. Called parley." he spoke as Nyiji stepped into the room beside him, finally able to see the entire room for herself.

The space was large and open, surgical in its cleanliness with two separate rooms, one located at her immediate left, through an open archway and another at the far back right wall. The main space was lined with bookshelves that framed the room, giving off the vibe that whoever lived here was quite intellectual. Eyeing the spines of a few texts near her, Nyiji discovered most were medical in nature. Directly in front of her, Bandana walked towards a setup of couches that boxed in a small coffee table, blocking her view before stepping away to reveal a grand desk made from a deep colored cherry wood that another man sat behind, his legs crossed up and resting on its surface. Had she not seen the bounty poster a few minutes earlier, Nyiji might not have recognized the man staring at her with striking amber eyes and a white spotted hat.

"I know you! Or—I've seen you!"

The man's lips pulled up high at the corners and he brought forward long tattooed fingers to stroke at the black goatee that marked his chin. "Oh, do you now?"

With a wave, he bid away the brunette that had led Nyiji into his chambers. "You can leave now, Uni."

Bandana muttered an affirmative, "Aye Captain" before he left the two alone, shutting the door on his way out. It wasn't until the door clicked that she realized just where she was. ' _I can do this.'_

"I have seen your wanted poster," Nyiji spoke up bravely, trying to maintain her composure underneath the man's dark gaze. "You are Trafalgar Law? I have come under parley to discuss terms."

Fluidly he took his legs off of the desk and stood to his full height, pocketing his tattooed hands into the front pockets of his spotted jeans, body taking on a relaxed posture. "Terms?" he asked, his tone quite uninterested.

He was at least a head taller than her, perhaps even inches above Killian, and lean though she could see the muscles beneath his yellow shirt moving as he crossed the room towards her. He was imposing in a way her Captain wasn't. Trafalgar Law wasn't a wall of a man and he didn't look like he could physically smack you into a puddle, but there was a threatening aura she couldn't deny that screamed he could do much worse. He walked like a predatory lion that examined its prey for weakness, taunting and terrifying, without a hint as to when he would strike.

"I—I know what you want. I spoke to one of your crewmates, Penguin. It's this," she held out her clutched paper towards him. "You want Jiyan Island and I want you to leave. Leave this island and leave my Captain and crew alone."

His lips curled and his golden earrings made a light tinkling noise as they bounced together when he tilted his head gently to the side, chin lifting to the air. "Sure know a lot." He drawled, "What's that paper going to do for me?"

"Honestly, I hope nothing." She hung her head and gently placed the paper before him, watching as he unfolded and smoothed out the crinkles to reveal a small map. It was roughly sketched in blue ink but provided a general idea of the shape of the island, along with an approximate location from their current whereabouts. Her knuckles curled into fists at her sides, skin whitening as she waited for his response. "I don't know why you want to get there, what business you have. But—it is… it is not more important than the lives of your crew. I feel... I must… warn you—about that."

His eyes flicked up from the map to her and stayed trained on her longer than she liked. His stare caused a nervous flutter in her stomach as a long silence stretched between them, only broken by the sound of ripping paper. Little pieces fluttered to the ground and landed at his feet.

"What—what are you doing!?" She cried as she knelt to the floor to collect the scraps of her drawing.

"I don't bargain for false information." He replied.

Her fingers froze overtop the scraps of paper, temporarily shocked by the man's comment. _'How had he known? No, how had she not seen it coming. He would have been a fool to believe the map was real without proof, but if that was all it would take…_ ' Standing up she moved over to his desk and snatched a pen out of a small metal cylinder and span back around to face him. "You want proof of its validity. I am the proof."

Dark eyebrow curving up, his smile was replaced with an unreadable expression as he regarded her. Holding her hand out, Nyiji demanded another piece of paper from him. When he merely stared at her, she tried to explain: "There are two islands between Moorham and Jiyan, all you need is the direction we came from—you want to know something about the island? I know it! Inside and out. If you accept my terms, I will write it all down. Just leave, gather your crew and **leave**."

Shaking from the exertion, Nyiji tried to calm her body as Trafalgar's mouth split into a wicked grin. His eyes flashed dangerously, brilliant and yellow as if he had finally obtained a secret treasure.

"I accept your terms." He moved forward, briefly entering her personal space before he reached past her to flick open a small communication tube that stuck out of the wall with a gaping mouth. Its lid popped open and a faint echo rumbled out, letting chatter that came from all over the submarine escape and fill his chambers. He leaned forward, nearly pressed against her as he spoke into the tube over her shoulder. "Tell everyone to board, we are setting sail immediately."

A cheerful series of "Aye, aye Captain!" echoed back from the pipe before the lid was flipped closed. Bringing his eyes back to the shaking young woman, he assessed her small stature and feminine features as relief seemed to flood through her. Before she could make a move to slip out of his confines, he spoke, pleased to watch her mood dramatically drop: "Best get comfortable, this may be a long trip." 

* * *

_Author's note: So many points in this story that I was really nervous about; Penguin's namesake story, the little flashback of Killian and Nyiji, tons of other tiny moments... The word count. Yikes._

 _From here on out though, the chapters will range into the higher counts, minimums being around 6K words while others (like this one) ended up over 10K. I'm not sure how everyone will feel about the chapter length though, so I would love feedback!_

 _I also really want to give hugs to those that have added this story to their favorites and follows so far, it means so much to me! Thank you!_


	4. Chapter Four

Waking sharply to the sound of steel being slammed together, Nyiji jerked up from the metal slab she had used as a bed, looking towards the front of her cell. Uni stood on the other side of the door, wielding a small baton that swung between his fingers with practiced ease, knocking against the steel bars. ' _Well, that explained what woke her.'_ With his face still covered behind a bandana that wrapped around his cheeks, Uni glared at her as he remained silent. Having spent a week alone, starved and abandoned inside their brig, she _almost_ wished he would say something. Clearing his throat, Uni finally broke the tension.

"Time to get up." he ordered, watching as she swung her bare legs over the side of her bed; her feet barely touched the cement floor, left dangling in the air from a pair of thinning legs. It was remarkable how physically weak she had become after they had locked her away, starving her of food and drink in an attempt to force her concede her aid to their ruthless Captain.

Turning away, Uni headed back towards the brig's entrance missing the way she struggled to get to her feet. As she held onto the wall for support, he called back over his shoulder: "I'll be back to collect you in a moment, get yourself ready."

A shudder passed through her as the door was slammed shut behind him, leaving her temporarily alone. The cell she found herself in was cold and barren, built with a small toilet in the corner and a disc-shaped sink that hadn't been working upon her arrival. Outside her prison there was a narrow hall, but it wasn't worth investigating while she was still trapped. Holding herself upright on the metal slab that stuck out of the wall, Nyiji rubbed at her empty stomach that gurgled in protest from her movements. Even her throat was suffering, so parched that it hurt to speak. Of course, screaming herself hoarse the past few days hadn't helped.

"Oh dad, I messed this one up." Her head dropped into her hands and she sunk to the floor. The only thing she really had going for her was that they hadn't searched her and taken her belongings; still attached to her hip was her spyglass, safe and sound, along with the devil fruit— "Oh no!"

Scrambling up off the floor, Nyiji freed the small satchel from her side and pulled it open across her lap. The once weightless bag now felt as if it weighed a hundred pounds. ' _What do I do!?'_ she thought desperately, ' _What do I do when they finally search me and discover this?'_

"What do I do dad?" she whispered her thoughts aloud to the prickly fruit. "Alistair trusted me with this…"

Alistair's words flitted across her mind, whispering gently in her ear: _"Take it to tha' bottom o' tha' sea if ya 'ave to. Don't let a soul 'ave it."_

Nyiji glanced around the small square room as if it held the answers. She wanted desperately to believe her Captain was on the trail of the submarine and that she would be retrieved any moment now, but she knew better. Their ship was nowhere near sea worthy yet, and who knew if Alistair even had the right information to find her. All they would really know was that she had gone to see Penguin, but would they know what crew he belonged to? _'Would they know not to track a ship but instead a submarine… they weren't even equipped to do such a thing.'_ She thought.

Her stomach grumbled fiercely as she stared at the prickly yellow fruit with apprehension. She couldn't let the pirates get ahold of the fruit, leaving her only option being to ingest it. Her stomach growled again as if agreeing to her train of thought; she was so hungry and there really wasn't any other solution. She had heard stories about Devil Fruit users, tales that could curl the toes of even the strongest individuals, and every one of them came upon the foundation of each person giving up something a sailor held dear, the sea. A devil fruit could turn a person into a monster, grant extraordinary powers but at a cost; they would never swim again, _she_ would never swim again.

' _Would it hurt to eat? To be submerged in water? How would she even know what powers this fruit would grant her?'_

Letting out a little scoff, Nyiji gently scooped the fruit out of the bag and into her hands. "I'm sorry Alistair." She whispered at the fruit.

A loud bang came from behind the sealed door to the brig, signaling Uni's imminent return, with that in mind Nyiji took the plunge. The hide was surprisingly tough as she sunk her teeth into the fruit, trying to eat it as quickly as possible, but she found the taste of pure salt on her tongue halting her progress. It was hard to swallow on her already dry mouth, and it burned going down. She could feel the prickles on her tongue as she chewed and then went in for a second bite, ravenously satiating her hunger while consuming the evidence, eating away the regret before it could really hit her what she was actually doing. The inside was pink and its juice sticky, providing a little assistance with swallowing; she tried to tell herself that the flavor was that of sweet lemonade and not rock salt. When the fruit was finally consumed and she was left with nothing but an empty satchel and some sticky fingers, an endless thirst hit her. Lips cracking and splitting apart, Nyiji palmed her mouth and winced at the pain. ' _Just when her face was starting to heal,'_ she sighed.

A door ahead of her swung open and Uni stepped forward, carrying that familiar baton and a ring of keys at the waist of his unzipped boiler suit. Spinning the weapon in his palm, he eyed her from overtop his bandana. "The Captain invites you to dinner," he grumbled.

Trying to be subtle, Nyiji rubbed her palms off on her long shirt, eyes wide at the promise of food and water. ' _He was finally willing to see her after days of starvation and isolation?'_ It had to be a ploy to make her cooperate, but it didn't matter, she was already willing to go along with whatever was asked of her, so long as it meant there was a possibility to quench this new and terrible thirst. She turned her attention back to the other pirate as he stepped forward to unlock her cage, white eyes staring at her. ' _Or perhaps not seeing anything at all? Where were his pupils?'_

"Stand up, hands against the wall over there. Legs apart and don't move an inch. Got all that?"

Weakly she tried to follow his instructions, wobbling to her feet and fighting off a wave of dizziness. Nyiji swayed as she turned her back to the man, blind to the burlap sack that fell to the floor from her movement. Uni's white eyes flickered down to the empty sack as it hit the floor, attention off the prisoner as she placed her palms on the wall as directed.

"What's this?" he asked her as he retrieved it, waving it near her face. "What was in this?"

"Nothing," She lied without looking. "It's just a bag."

He looked briefly at the bag before throwing it onto the slab of metal, his eyes pensive as his mouth worked into a frown. He regretted not looking her over before they had thrown her into the brig, but his Captain had ordered her isolation, calling him back as soon as her cell door had closed. Roughly Uni patted her body down, snatching the spyglass off of her hip when he got to her waist.

"That's mine!" she cried, about to spin around before his elbow slammed into her back to halt her actions.

Pinned to the wall, Nyiji tried to resist as he examined the brass telescope in one hand, tilting it from side to side until he came across an engraving of _'E.P'._

"Stop! It was my fathers!" she pleaded with the man, "Please don't break it!"

Uni made a mental note of her comment; certain it could be useful for his Captain. "Quit fucking moving then," he answered her as he set the spyglass down on the satchel and resumed his search of her body. His fingers even dug down into her shoes, thorough enough to make sure she hadn't concealed any knives. When he was satisfied at last, he released his hold on her and let her scramble to collect her things once more.

"What was in that bag?" he asked again.

"Nothing, just spent beli." She lied once more, with her face set in stone and dark eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks. It was a poor attempt to appear submissive Nyiji knew, but physically she couldn't do anything more than this.

Semi-satisfied, he beckoned her to follow him and led her out of the brig to a small flight of stairs, all while keeping her elbow tight in his grasp. From the third floor to the second floor the submarine was filled with the noise of a running engine and the laughter of a happy crew that echoed through the halls and chased after them as they headed up to the first floor where the Captain's quarters were located. She could still remember which door belonged to their Captain and stopped short without needing to be told, flashing Uni a mocking smile when he faltered from her forward thinking and glared. Knocking on his Captain's door without tearing his gaze away from her, the two waited for a call from within before Uni pulled the metal door out of its resting place, pushing her inside a second later. She stumbled with a barely concealed gasp, arms flying out dramatically before she regained her balance and settled back on the balls of her feet.

An assortment of food had been laid out on the small table that sat between the two leather couches, catching Nyiji's attention immediately once she felt comfortable enough to look around. She didn't see Trafalgar waiting at either couch, but there was a fluffy white throw blanket tossed carelessly over the back of one of the couches that reminded her of her cold nights back inside her celled room. He probably had pulled it out just to remind her. Resisting a scowl, Nyiji stepped closer to the table and took in the spread of mouth-watering food; there was a combination of bite sized fruits, selections of meats and cheeses, little cakes and even bowls of baby vegetables. It was overwhelming. There was even a large mug of brown liquid waiting for her, sitting right within reach of that warm fluffy blanket.

"You may sit." Broken from her intense staring match with the food, her silver eyes slid up to find the speaker.

"Trafalgar," she addressed him through gritted teeth.

Leaning his weight against the doorjamb that led to the back room he stood tall with folded arms, simply watching her as she shakily held herself upright now that Uni had released her from his hold.

"Sit. Eat." he waved a hand towards the meal set out before her, then gestured towards Uni to indicate that the man should to leave them be. Without words exchanged Uni bowed his head and turned to follow the order, vanishing out the door a moment later.

Nyiji debated standing in defiance for a moment, if only to irritate Trafalgar a little, before her hunger won out and she took a seat on the couch; her body was too heavy to remain on her feet any longer and she simply didn't have enough energy with which to fight. Law moved around the room slowly before coming to a stop behind the couch where he gently dropped the throw blanket around her shoulders before he took up a seat on the opposite couch. They stared at one another for a moment, each assessing the other before he leaned forward and pushed a small plate towards her. Once it was near enough, Nyiji couldn't fight her hunger any longer and she snatched up a gooey rice ball that nearly fell apart in her hands; it wasn't as cooled as it should have been, so its shape barely held together. ' _Killian would have done a better job,'_ she thought, but she wasn't about to turn down a meal and so she stuffed the rice ball into her mouth and swallowed without stopping to chew. Law watched her stoically as he eased into his seat, getting comfortable by slinging an arm over the back of the couch and resting his leg by the ankle on his other knee.

"Tell me, what's your name?" Law casually leaned forward to pluck a few grapes from a bowl, popping them into his mouth one at a time.

Nyiji looked up with bits of rice stuck to her cheeks and knots in her black hair that stuck out of her braid; her cheeks were full and round with food so she tried to swallow, nearly choking in the process. She was surprised he didn't know her name already, and that he was asking now. ' _Wasn't Penguin on board and more than capable of giving him that information after all?'_

Stealing a sip of the brown liquid to ease her tongue, she eyed him over the rim of the cup, trying to place his motivation. Likely he already did know her name and now was simply acting out a scene that would benefit him. For now, she supposed, she would play along. "Puppy… Nyiji. Will you tell me where my crew is?"

"I assume back on Moorham," He waved his hand in the air. Nyiji's eyes bulged as she finally noted the ink across his knuckles, 'DEATH' just like his submarine. ' _Now that was just her luck…'_

"Then return me to them."

She knew she wasn't in a position to make demands of the Captain and she expected a negative reply, but the uneasy feeling that sprouted in her gut as she continued to eyeball his further tattoos that peeked out from beneath his bunched-up sleeves, urged her to argue against her captivity. It was that or _death._ Carefully setting the mug of alcohol down, she stared at the leftover food she had yet to get her hands on and frowned. Now that her hunger was slowly abating, she began to wonder about the very real possibility of her meal being poisoned or at least the drink. It was unlikely, but paranoia seemed to keep the thought rooted in her mind. His frightening yellow eyes narrowed on her for a moment before his entire face returned to that faux pleasant pretext; his smile did not feel kind however but rather predatory in nature.

"I need your assistance first, Puppy-ya."

He leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees, balancing his chin to his knuckles. He looked fierce beneath his spotted hat even though he was smiling at her softly, a friendly face to fit a friendly conversation, she supposed.

Nyiji curled her hands around the soft material of the blanket wrapped around her body and squeezed her lips together, not quite ready to submit her assistance to the man after everything he had done. It was obvious that his plan had been to starve her out before showing a small sliver of compassion in an attempt to make her obey and answer whatever question he had. "I offered you a deal before, for my assistance... You kidnapped me instead."

Law grinned at her over his clasped hands. "I know quite well what I did. I accepted your deal. I left Moorham with my men and seeing as I don't see your Captain anywhere here, I believe I kept those terms as well."

Her body shaking no longer from weakness but with rage, Nyiji slapped her hands onto her bare thighs in frustration and stood, the blanket falling to the floor forgotten. Law watched her as she struggled to contain her temper, clutching the front of her shorts and twisting the material.

"Why…are you going to such lengths to get to that place? Is it really that important to you?" she yelled.

"Yes."

"You'll never get inside anyway… even if I lead you there."

Law's eyebrow quirked up and his whole body shifted position, his interest piqued as he mentally dissected her words. "And why do you believe that?"

She lingered for a moment and then sat back down, eyes drawn down to the floor where she stared at her dark boots; the cloth was peeling apart around the soles, freeing some of the rubber beneath and letting in a flow of air against her toes. Not only did she need a new pair, but she would need a change of clothes after spending a week in her current attire. "Because no one can scale its walls, no one can climb it or barge through, and there's no way under. You should just leave it alone."

Tilting his head down to allow a shadow to fall over his face, granting his eyes coverage, Law felt his pupils dilate and his breath falter. This was what he was waiting for, confirmation that proved the woman knew the physical attributes of the island and that what he had paid for wasn't just rumor, another dead-end. Quickly to keep his composure, he got to his feet and moved toward his desk to keep his back to her while selecting a small empty sketchpad off of the table and plucking an inked pen from its cylindrical holder. When he was certain he could maintain his indifference, he turned back to face her and set the items down on the coffee table before her.

"The wall around Jiyan, tell me about it."

Nyiji's mouth remained tightly sealed as she looked at the sketch pad and thought of the island. She could picture it so clearly it felt like she was still there, standing at the bow of her ship, looking up at the massive walls as they towered above her with the wind wildly whipping around her. The seas were unsteady and rocked against the ship as it sailed alongside the island. Above the walls she could see the tip of a mountain peeking over, and then she could hear nothing but the sound of screams echoing in her head. She tried to shut out those memories before they could consume her once more.

Without touching the sketch pad, she looked at the pirate and made eye contact with those amber orbs before speaking: "It is solid metal and surrounds the island. There are no windows, holes, or obvious entrances."

Law resisted nodding at the supplied information, instead he remained neutral as he reclaimed his spot on the opposite couch as she carried on speaking. "I can describe it until I am blue in the face for you, if that is what you really want. But I don't want to waste my time or yours," Nyiji leaned forward and tapped a pointer finger over the sketch pad. "If you want another map, a detailed one at that and coordinates... I have some conditions that must be met."

"You are in no position to be asking for more conditions, Puppy-ya," He reminded her, though his mouth curved into a cruel smirk. He looked as if he was enjoying the challenges she put forth. "But I will indulge you."

"I demand my safe return to my crew members on Moorham. Immediately." His amber eyes rolled and his cheek fell into his palm at the request. He should have known better than to expect something surprising from the woman. "And clothes. Fresh ones, along with better accommodations."

"Is that all?" he drawled.

Nyiji swallowed hard and snatched up the mug for another mouthful before she continued, nervous about his reaction. "And to see one of your crew-members. His name is Penguin."

Law felt the surprise catch him off guard and knew his face must have given it away by the triumphant look on hers. ' _Had she figured out the role his head mechanic had played in her capture and now wanted some sort of revenge?_ ' He couldn't dismiss the possibility. She was sharp and it wouldn't have taken a genius to have seen through Penguin's terrible acting skills. Of course, he had forbade his subordinate from seeing her within the brig for this very reason, wishing to avoid any turbulence while he was trying to slip information out of her.

"Nothing else, huh?"

Nyiji felt a sense of satisfaction with the way he had spoken, so she offered him a smile as she nodded. "Just to clarify, my safety, returned to my crew, fresh clothes and better accommodations in return for a detailed map and coordinates."

He let her sit in her satisfaction for a moment, even let her grow comfortable enough to eat again. She selected another rice ball from the table, one that fell apart in her hands to reveal slivers of salmon inside, before digging in under his watchful stare. When her mouth was finally full, unlikely she could interrupt him now, he spoke: "I'm glad you ' _clarified_ ' your terms, Puppy-ya. As I have terms of my own. You see, I need much more than just a map or coordinates from you. I need inside, and a guide as it were, two things I am sure you are more than capable of."

Her eyes widened to the size of saucer cups and she choked on the rice. "No!"

She couldn't go back to that island. ' _Was that why he had sailed off with her in the first place? It had to of been.'_ She glanced down at the food and felt remorse for falling for his trap—if only she hadn't eaten. She should have starved down in the cells. ' _Sure, it would have been painful and unpleasant, but she would have also avoided this predicament…._ ' No, that was a lie, there wasn't a way to avoid this situation. Not after she had stepped aboard his submarine. With a tremor in her hand, Nyiji laid her palm against her stomach, suddenly feeling the weight of the devil fruit in her gut.

"Then I have no use for you, but your Captain…" he gently trailed off, head tilting away to goad her on.

"Please, leave him alone." Nyiji placed the remnants of rice back onto the closest plate, no longer hungry. From the look in his eyes, they both knew she was cornered. If she declined him, there was more at stake than simply being returned to the brig and Trafalgar hunting her crew back down. She knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill her, just by the impatient drumming of his tattooed fingers on his knee. "I… I will help you."

He clapped his hands together. "Terrific. Eat up then Puppy-ya."

"Wait, where are you going?" she called out as he swept off of the couch and headed towards the front door of his chambers.

He didn't bother to cast her a look as he opened the door, revealing Uni waiting on the other side. "I'll be seeing to your new living arrangements. I hope upon my return that you'll have something ready for me." His finger casually pointed over his shoulder, back to the table and her eyes fell onto the little sketch pad.

"Watch her until I return."

Trafalgar vanished from sight then, leaving Uni to watch over her. He stepped into the quarters, pulling the heavy door shut behind him before turning and moving further into the room. His giant ball of hair bounced as he walked forward, stopping with him as he came to pause before her at the setup of couches. Nyiji barely glanced at him before her attention was occupied with the pad of paper, pen heavy in her hand. She didn't want to converse with the other pirate, instead she set to work with drawing. A little creative hobby she hadn't done for some time; it was one of her talents that she thought set her apart from other navigators. She was skilled in recreating photos from her memory, diagrams with varying degrees to dictate height elevations, blueprints and more. Soon the sound of a pen scratching against paper was all that was heard in the room as she got to work, occasionally flipping pages to start on another design. When Uni had finally grown tired of standing over her and moved off to his Captain's desk to sit, Nyiji even snuck herself a few tiny tomatoes. ' _How had she overlooked the little red treasures when she had first started eating!?'_

When Law returned, she had just finished her last drawing and was making notes about the wind turbulence that affected the currents surrounding the island. He waited patiently for her to hand over the sketchpad before finally getting a good look at the detailed sketches, surprise coloring his face. The first picture showcased a face-down sketch of Jiyan Island which had a clear layout of a mountain range that spiraled out with its hills, and a series of buildings and roads scattered around it. Detailed trees decorated the base of the mountain, symbolizing a thick growth of forest, but the ink had been smudged out intentionally. When he flipped the page, Law found the second drawing that detailed a river that ran through the island and connected to a giant water wheel. This confused him.

"What's this?" he asked her.

Nyiji leaned over, entering into his space to get a glance at what he was pointing at, grimacing when she discovered it was the water wheel. "The island's water distribution system and its primary mode of transportation," She answered.

"The island moves?" he shouted.

' _This changed everything and confirmed exactly why it had been so hard to get information on the island in the first place. How had it been kept so secret!? How had no one known the island moved, and under marine radar at that. What was keeping it hidden, secure?'_ His eyes flashed dangerously on the young woman. ' _Even if he had taken her coordinates for the island, after her false map, he never would have found the island. Not on his own at least.'_ The two shared steady eye contact that spoke volumes, one side near bursting in a silent rage while the other winced and prepared for the fallout. Though she had prepared herself for his reaction, whatever it may be, she had hoped that with the information she had given he would have given up altogether.

Uni coughed from behind his Captain's desk to break the staring contest and gather Law's attention. Law's gaze darted towards him before flickering back onto the woman to continue glaring; it looked like he was hoping the woman would burst into flames under his stare. Uni spoke up: "There be more pages sir. Saw her working on them."

Law kept his narrowed eyes on the raven-haired female a minute longer, promising his rage would be tabled for later before turning away. He flipped through the rest of the book, scanning and absorbing all of the information and details he hadn't expected. True to her word, she had given him a detailed map of the island—including its entrance.

"So, there is a gate," He mumbled, not intending for her to add her two cents.

"It's unusable… it was destroyed when we escaped."

His yellow eyes returned their rage onto her and Nyiji had to squeeze her hands together to keep from recoiling. "Then I need to know about your escape, how was the gate destroyed. Are there any other access points? Are there any open portions to the wall?"

She shook her head in a brusque manner, "it's not that kind of gate. It was all electronic. It sealed itself. W-w-we didn't… we barely made it through before it closed again and short circuited."

Nyiji didn't regret the lie as it came out. She had to look out for herself, even as the dead peered at her from the side of the couch whispering that she was a traitor. She had to deceive him. It would be the only way to stop them from going back. _"Or at least keep Trafalgar from coming out,"_ a voice hissed beside her ear but she ignored it.

Law stroked at the hair on his chin in thought, his eyes still searching the pads of paper. This was still more information than he had been able to garner in months. Penguin was right when he had isolated Puppy out from the other Rook Pirates. "Uni, please go fetch Bepo from the helm. We need to discuss a new heading," Uni reacted quickly to the order, rushing out from behind the desk to head for the door. "And bring Penguin."

Law didn't have to look to feel two sets of eyes on him for the comment. Luckily, they both withheld their tongues. Uni exited out the front door a second later, while Nyiji continued shuffling nervously in her spot now that the two were left alone once again.

"I thought I would be able to speak to him alone." She admitted, voice low and tinged with nerves.

Law flicked his eyes at her and had to repeat an internal mantra to calm himself from squeezing the paper in his hands. "I never agreed to unspecified terms, take what you can get Puppy-ya. Before there isn't anything left for you to grasp."

Nyiji audibly exhaled and turned her face away from him as her face flushed at the threat. He really was nothing like Alistair, who physically imposed upon another person when he needed to assert authority. Trafalgar was rather like a mine field, and he let her walk herself into the mess she had created, only to wait for her to trip herself up. She heard a rough whisper by her ear again, voice unfamiliar, and span around to find nothing in her vicinity.

" _You're going to die if he takes you back there_." Ignoring the inanimate voice, Nyiji righted herself on the couch and tried to pretend she hadn't just physically flinched at nothing. She kept still like a frightened rabbit as Law crossed her on the way to his desk where he took up a seat.

"Do you know what path the island travels?" he asked after he had finished flipping through her pages of art.

Nyiji frowned and nodded sluggishly. "I don't know if they changed course after we escaped, but for the most part, the island is forced to travel along with the water current. So long as you head east, eventually you will catch its trail—"

"After the two islands between?" he mused and Nyiji bobbed her head with confirmation, lips pursing from his interruption. "Ah, there you are Bepo."

Nyiji swung around as the Captain's door was swung open, finding the entire width of door taken up by a mass of white fur contained within a bright orange boiler suit. Killian's words echoed through her mind as the animal entered the room, ' _A bear, a real-life giant BEAR!'_ the animal saluted his Captain as if he were a come-to-life teddy bear. ' _Talked!'_ Killian's voice added; but surely this bear couldn't talk. Her palms suddenly felt very sweaty, so she wiped them against her shorts.

' _Just breathe, it can't talk_ ,' she told herself. ' _Animals don't talk after all.'_

Killian had to have been pulling her leg, creating some far-fetched story just to scare her.

"Uni said you wished to discuss a new heading, sir," it squeaked.

Nyiji immediately swung herself off the couch, smashing her shin against the coffee table as she clambered away from the _talking_ bear. She was never good with animals, an irrational fear as Killian would call it, but never had she heard of one capable of speech. The two watched her as she pressed up against a bookshelf in panic, eyes wide and focused on the minkman as he meekly stared back, unsure of how to react to her.

"Is she alright?" it asked, nervously pushing its paws together as if it were wringing its hands.

"Puppy-ya," Law called to her with a frown in place. Her face darted towards him with an expression that screamed she thought he were asinine for keeping the animal on board. "Calm down."

"That's a bear! A **talking** bear!" she shouted and pointed a finger in the direction of his navigator.

"I'm a minkman," The bear huffed at her, his fur bristling above his collar.

Nyiji flailed her hands helplessly at her sides. She could feel her heart pounding so quickly beneath her rib cage that each beat began to hurt. A hard pulse ran through her body, responding to her fear and a faint shimmer ran down her arms, gone before it could really be seen. Law quirked an eyebrow at her as she clutched her chest from pain, her pretty face contorting as she began to wheeze, falling into a panic attack. He sighed at the sight and removed himself from behind his desk, crossing over to her and catching her arms before she could crumple to the ground. Silver eyes bounced up to meet his and he took a moment to etch the look of fear on her face in his memory.

"Bepo, please hand me the bottles from my top drawer." The giant bear moved toward his desk without further instruction, rifling through a drawer's contents for a moment before he held up a small vial of clear liquid. "Yes, that's the one. Fill a syringe, would you?"

Nyiji shook in his hold as the bear moved into the back room, flicking a light on to reveal a simple bathroom. Above a porcelain sink a medicine cabinet sat, covered by a mirror that Bepo got himself into to locate a packaged syringe. He tore through the plastic to get to the needle and then stuck it into the small vial in his paws, drawing back the plunger so the liquid began to fill the cannister. He paused for a moment to look at his Captain for confirmation.

"10cc's," Law called without looking at the bear.

Bepo nodded and resumed filling the syringe's barrel, flicking gently at the cannula before he was drawing closer to the couple. Nyiji tried to shirk out of the Captain's hold as the bear entered her field of vision again, she pushed at Trafalgar's chest in an effort to free herself but found he only tightened his hold on her. Releasing only one arm he quickly took the syringe from his navigator and stuck the needle bluntly into the top of her shoulder and depressed the plunger, watching the liquid rush into her system. She let out a soft gasp as she felt the liquid rush into her body beneath the skin, lightly burning even as the needle was withdrawn from her.

"What did you just—d…do…"

Law gently pulled her back over to the couch, this time setting her down on the side he had previously occupied. She moved without resistance, mostly due to shock as the drug had not taken effect yet. As she fell over onto her side, body too heavy to handle, Law tossed the fluffy white blanket over her and turned back to his navigator.

"The information you need is there, on my desk. The destination appears to be abnormally moving, she says it follows the sea's currents." Bepo nodded and glanced up from the sketch pad, about to ask the direction before Law once more beat him to the answer: "Heading is east, I trust you can find out the rest?"

"Yes sir." The minkman saluted.

"Update me when you can, Bepo." His navigator nodded again and headed towards the door, nearly bumping into another person on his way out.

Law couldn't resist grinning at the sight of his head mechanic poking through the doorway, iconic hat in place with an expression that could only be classified as nervous. Having been forced to keep his distance since Nyiji's arrival on the sub, he'd spent most of his time avoiding everyone and was no doubt confused by his summons. Penguin's eyes scanned the room around the furry navigator before they fell to the couch. He quickly dashed inside the room and knelt before the girl, pressing a hand against her forehead in worry.

"What happened?" he asked his Captain.

Nyiji's eyelids barely lifted as they tried to focus on the familiar penguin hat staring down at her, hugging the giant nameplate against its stomach. Dammit, she should have more control over her situation than this. She had wanted desperately to see Penguin and plead to his sense of honor, knowing with a little time that she could probably coerce the man into helping her aboard the submarine, but Trafalgar's drug combined with her own fear and anxiety had effectively shut her down. Her limbs felt heavy and her mind swam whenever she tried to move, the room tilting and spinning on its own axis. She could feel a hand against her forehead but barely registered it, all she knew was that Trafalgar was winning and she had to do something before whatever he had injected her with overcame her.

"She had a panic attack, I simply gave her something to help her calm down," Law supplied to his subordinate.

The two men started when they heard Nyiji mutter the mechanics name softly, and eyes drew back to her limp form on the couch. She had given up trying to sit upright in favor for catching a hand onto the front of Penguin's boiler suit, tightly clinging to the cloth for support. " _help,_ " she weakly cried and the man's mouth twisted as he glanced at his Captain nervously.

Law eyed the two with a raised brow, surprised by her response to the mechanics appearance. He really had thought she would try to attack the fair-haired man, angry with him for his part played, but here she was clinging to the front of Penguin as if he was her only hope. His eyebrows shot up as the thought crossed him. _'Was that the angle she was planning to play? Lay all of her hopes on Penguin's moralities to keep her safe aboard the submarine? It wouldn't be_ that _foolish of her,_ ' he thought. Penguin hadn't been in the best mood since he had heard of her arrival after all. It was obvious to Law that the mechanic had felt terrible about her imprisonment aboard the submarine. How Penguin had spoken of her was as if they already had a strong friendship, so in that regard playing to that weakness would certainly suit her interests.

Penguin continued to stare at his Captain, helpless and obviously concerned about what the situation implied to Law. In the hopes of assuaging these fears, Trafalgar waved at his mechanic and looked away with disinterest to feign ignorance when Penguin dropped down to a knee and began to soothe the woman. Whenever she tried to speak, Penguin would calmly hush her as he waited for her to fall into a drug induced sleep. ' _Did he not want him to overhear their conversation?_ ' it made Law's gut twist; he'd never had to worry about his crew's loyalty before, especially in regards to Penguin.

"Take her down to the medical closet three near storage. The room's been converted for her arrival, keep the door locked when you're finished."

Penguin took the orders in silence and scooped the small woman up into his arms, concerned for how little she weighed and the way her head lolled back against his shoulder. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused as she tried to understand why her surroundings were moving again. Law didn't watch them leave.

* * *

When Nyiji awoke from her drug induced coma, her mouth felt like she had been sucking on cotton balls all night and her brain provided her with beer googles to look through. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she took in her surroundings and noted that she was no longer in the Captain's quarters or the brig. The room was tight and rectangle with a little hammock that she was currently resting on that had been setup between two large stocking shelves. A recent wash of the floor left the place smelling like antiseptic and a single light bulb dangled from the ceiling nearly striking her head when she sat up. Though dimly lit she could make out various boxes lining the shelves, each labelled with abbreviations that meant nothing to her. Nyiji thumbed a few boxes before she came across a pile of neatly folded clothes that when unraveled became a pair of long-legged shorts and an oversized grey shirt that displayed a giant smiley on the front. She glared at the jolly roger, certain this shirt had been hand-picked specifically just to taunt her. Eventually giving up on glaring at the shirt, Nyiji came to terms that she would be unable to do anything about the offered attire. It was still a better solution than continuing to wear her filthy clothes. Setting about disrobing, she tossed her shirt and undergarments onto the small cot without another thought. Carefully she unhooked the spyglass from her waist before slipping out of her shorts and underwear, pausing only when she noticed a distinct lack thereof as replacements.

"Wait. Where are—"

A few flips of the loaned shirt and long-legged shorts confirmed that there would be nothing for her to wear beneath the clothes. Nyiji tilted her head back and let out a noise of annoyance before grabbing up the pair of orange shorts that not only swam over her legs but slipped from her hips with the slightest movement. Not wanting to risk an accidental flashing with nothing beneath the shorts, Nyiji dug through boxes until she found a bundle of rope that she could use as a makeshift belt. With her shorts taken care of and shirt slipped over her head left to billow out around her waist a soft knock came from the door, followed by a familiar face poking around the corner.

"Oh good, you found the clothes!" Penguin called as he entered the small room, leaving the door wide open behind him. "I'm glad to see you back on your feet, are you feeling alright now?"

"Fine," she answered warily as she examined him. He wasn't wearing the normal boiler suit like she was used to, but instead a pair of beige cargo pants and a black t-shirt that hung down his chest. She noticed briefly a faint white spread of ink along both of his forearms, perhaps a tattoo but her eyes were too foggy to really decipher it.

Penguin seemed oblivious to the tension she wore as he reached out, gently asking her for the pile of folded clothes in her arms: "May I? I can get those washed for you."

Nyiji let him take the clothes from her hands, missing the way his face blushed at skin contact before he was turning away from her and heading back towards the doorway, still talking as if she were following him: "I can drop these off at laundry and then we can head for a snack, if you are feeling hungry?"

She stepped timidly out into the open corridor that was lined with closed doors and a staircase at each end, one that went up and another that went down.

"Penguin," she called to him, "stop."

He glanced over his shoulder at her and tried his best to offer a friendly smile. "It's alright to wander the ship, Captain said so long as someone's with you, you're free to move about. Nowhere to go on a submarine anyway." The last bit he said casually, not intending it to sound as entrapping as it was.

Nyiji frowned and began to follow, her mind becoming clearer with each step. She wanted to stop him and have a conversation about many things, but she resisted. Penguin kept them constantly moving, babbling about the submarine all in order to avoid a proper conversation, as if he were afraid that she was upset. ' _And he wouldn't be far off base.'_ She still wasn't quite sure how all the pieces fit together yet, but she knew that he had used Cyrus to get to her and her crew. If she had the freedom, she would have struck him as hard as she could manage—but now was not the time, her safety could be compared to walking on a tight rope line.

Penguin stopped inside a room where a small rectangular machine sat; it was a strange contraption she had never seen before. Twisting and turning a few knobs that seemed to turn the device on, he deposited her clothes inside, continuing a rambling speech through the entire process: "Mason made up a lot of different dishes today too, so there will be a good selection—you're not allergic to anything, are you?"

"No," she answered, trying to force out the curtness in her tone and failing. "No allergies."

Slamming the lid shut, he waved her to follow him out of the room. "That's good. The galley is this way."

Leading her towards a great archway that spread out into a vast room extending deep into the submarine, Nyiji took in the galley as Penguin pointed and named each area of the open room as if she weren't familiar with a kitchen or dining area. In immediate view was a giant serving station that hugged a kitchen setup into the shape of a square. The station was shielding hot dishes and trays of foods beneath a thick film of glass, a space cut out at the bottom for anyone to reach in and fill their plates in a buffet style. To the right of the little station was a wall of locked pantries, stocked full of various supplies and perishables, likely sealed to keep their stores accounted for. These cabinets divided the space between the kitchen and a seating area that lined the farthest wall in a setup of alcove booths, about four in all. Nyiji noticed that aside from the booths, they had setup brightly colored yellow fabric couches alongside deep mahogany wood tables in the leftover space that all came together and clashed against the ugly blue paint on the walls. It was a little blinding inside the galley and yet equally amazing, nothing like she had ever seen before. She was used to tightly cramped spaces and bland wooden decors. Nyiji could even see the personalization of bounty posters and photographs tacked to an empty wall facing the couches, grinning faces of Heart Pirates leering off the pages.

"This is our galley," Penguin introduced her to the room. Immediately she saw many faces all turning to look in her direction, well over half of them dressed in boiler suits or at least brazenly displaying their jolly roger with pride as they took up various seats in the room. "We spend most of her time in here, but we have other spaces you'll get to see soon enough."

After a pause, he suddenly admitted, "I didn't expect everyone to be up so early though… I can introduce you after we get some food if you are up for it?"

Silver irises darted from each inquiring face before falling back to her tour guide. She wasn't so sure how comfortable she was with the idea of personally meeting each pirate; it would make escape much harder if they all knew her face, but she didn't want to continue alienating Penguin. Playing nice and submissive to the crew could play in her favor after all. So, when he looked at her with those precious baby blues, genuinely worried if she were comfortable with meeting his crewmates or not, Nyiji forced a brilliant smile and a timid nod of her head. Placated he bounced towards the serving counter and she trailed after him. An array of rice dishes had been setup alongside some off-putting grey eggs, still steaming with heat underneath the glass.

"What's on the menu today, Mason?"

A young man stood behind the counter with a mop of blonde hair, a surgical mask draped around his throat and a pair of thick bifocals stooped low on the bridge of his nose, glaring at Penguin as the couple moved forward. His face was long with a very slight jawline and baby smooth skin that gave him the appearance of a child. As Penguin pressed his hands against the glass, peering down at the choices for his breakfast the blonde suddenly made a noise of irritation.

Mason, she assumed, was a thin man with a short stature and a very short fuse which became apparent when he began screaming at his crewmate for touching the glass: "It's not sterile anymore! I have told you a thousand times! Don't touch _anything_!"

Gingerly Penguin peeled his hands away and offered a small apologetic shrug—his face betrayed him however. "Sorry Mason." _He was anything but._

"Sorry won't keep away the germs!" Mason squealed back as he pulled out a disinfectant wipe from behind one of the counters and began fiercely rubbing at the separating glass, muttering obscenities as he went.

Watching the two interact almost brought a smile to Nyiji's face as she observed from afar. Penguin reacted to the volatile blonde just like he had with Cyrus, silent and placating as needed while simultaneously dodging uncomfortable topics and situations. Briefly, she wondered if this was another act he performed or apart of his genuine personality.

When Mason was finally finished cleaning up the handprints, he turned his attention back onto the two waiting before him. The longer the three stared at one another though, the faster his annoyed expression slipped into one of anxiety and within seconds he had slipped the white mask from his neck and onto his face so it tucked just underneath the bridge of his glasses.

"Well hurry up and grab your plates and get out of here!" his voice came out muffled underneath the crinkling fabric of his mask.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Penguin chuckled as he grabbed two plates for them, handing one off to Nyiji who accepted it in silence, still occupied with staring at the chef? ' _Was he the ship's cook?_ ' She scanned the food and grimaced. She hadn't noticed it when she had been fed in Trafalgar's quarter's but the food looked rather bland and poorly made underneath the hot lamps.

Mason, noticing the grimace, slapped a hand down on the counter between them and leaned towards her while sneering beneath his mask. "Do you have a problem with the food, _prisoner_?"

Penguin looked up from the food he was plating with a start. "There's no problem, Mason. Don't worry about it—your food is always great!" he placated as he quickly pushed a hand onto Nyiji's lower back to wheel her away. "Don't piss off Mason, he's got a temper," he whispered into her ear when they were far enough away.

"All I did was look at him," Nyiji defended as she was directed to sit on one of the yellow couches.

He laughed as he handed over a set of utensils from his back pocket. "That's all it takes."

The two settled together into one of the couches that lined a circular table. The other two couches across from them were empty, leaving them to awkwardly pick at their food to avoid conversing with one another. Penguin, appearing to be true to his nature worried not only about what would transpire once Nyiji finally found her tongue, but also about the lingering eyes of his crewmates that watched from various spots in the room.

It was Nyiji who spoke first, deciding she would try to quell her own anxiety by keeping civil: "It's nice to see you again."

His head shot up at her words and after a lingering silence his eyes crinkled and he smiled in relief. "I'm glad you're ok, Nyiji. When I heard you had come here—"

"I wanted to talk to you about that actually… but, perhaps we can do that alone?"

Penguin's blue eyes scanned the room, catching a few gazes of his friends and crewmates as they looked back. Some of them looked amused to see him with the woman while others wore expressions of confusion, wary about her appearance on board and her sudden freedom from the brig. They all knew the story of how she had arrived and that she was being kept as a prisoner until their Captain said different, but it was still strange for them. Admittedly even Penguin had been confused after Law had cleared out one of the medical closets for her use rather than returning her to a cell and from his latest instructions, she was simply to be watched and monitored.

"Eventually," he agreed to her suggestion. "Ya we can do that."

Nyiji offered him a small smile and stabbed at the grey eggs on her plate, eyes drifting down to the meal. "Do I… have to eat this though?"

The background buzz of voices in the room grew silent at her words and an icy chill ran down the back of her spine. When she looked up from her plate, Nyiji found Mason standing behind her on the other side of the couch, hands curled up on his hips as he glared at her.

"So, you **do** have a problem with the food!" he bellowed.

Penguin flailed his hands, flecks of egg flying off his fork with the movement. "No, she doesn't Mason! It's all fine!"

"Well… the eggs… they're _grey_ ," she admitted, hoping not to offend the man more than her mere presence already had.

The men around her audibly gasped and recoiled, trying to put distance between the prisoner and their short chef. That was how Nyiji knew she had made a mistake; it was clear that no one aboard the submarine had ever insulted the chefs cooking before or commented on the meals in a negative fashion. Clearly, Mason was not used to criticism.

Mason's face turned rouge and he leaned into her personal space, hands set like clamps on the back of the couch. "How dare you! You think you can do better?"

Actually, she knew she could. "I'm certain I could," she snapped back, her own face flushing crimson by her emboldened behavior.

"Come on guys, lets calm down," Penguin whined from the sidelines, completely forgotten by the two as Nyiji got to her feet.

"Then by aaaaaall means," Mason snapped and waved with a flourish towards his kitchen, "go ahead and show me... Just… Just don't touch **anything**!"

"How am I supposed to cook if I can't touch anything?" She cried, passing by him and heading towards the kitchen. If he was going to give her access to cook her own meal, well that was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.

Mason let out a little cry as she leapt over the side of the counter rather than walking around to the entrance, her feet barely brushing the top as she lifted her body over with one arm. ' _She was quick and agile_ ,' Penguin noted as she began to dig through the cabinets, ' _and brave_.'

"She's—she's in my kitchen!" Mason wailed, as if he hadn't really thought she would take him up on his challenge.

"Do you have any meats in the fridge, or vegetables?" she called with her head stuck inside a cabinet.

Penguin quickly got to his feet before the poor chef could faint and headed towards Nyiji. "I don't think you should be back there, Nyiji."

Her head popped out from behind a small door, a set of frying pans in her arms. "He gave me permission. Don't worry, I'll make you something too." She gave him a little wink and then moved back to digging through drawers to find spoons, a saucepan, and a small cup. "Are the leftovers in the fridge?"

" _Yeah…"_

Without any further direction, she helped herself into their fridge; pulling out bottled stocks that she gave a sniff before setting aside on the counter, adding it to the lineup of eggs, packs of cheeses and sticks of butter. A small brown paper bag was retrieved, quickly checked on to reveal thick slices of fresh bacon—her mouth began to water. _'It had been too long since she had a chance to work with bacon!'_ She added that to the growing list of items on the counter, unaware that many of the Heart pirates had left their seats to get a better view.

"What do you even think you're making?" Mason snapped from the middle of the room, the only one angry enough to dare to speak with her.

With a handful of onions and garlic cloves, Nyiji looked over at the blonde chef and then back to the serving station of rice. "Well, so not to waste what's already out—I suppose a risotto."

"A _risotto_?" He exclaimed, "there's no bloody way you know how to make a risotto!"

Nyiji nearly let the words ' _Killian taught me'_ slip out before she grabbed ahold of herself. The chef looked absolutely livid with her for being in his space, yet no one was stopping her from exploring, so she ignored the risks. If she was to be punished for this excursion, she would rather it be done on a full stomach. Pushing down the feelings of fear with being surrounded by an unfamiliar crew of men that had kidnapped her, Nyiji swore she would utilize right then all of the skills Killian had taught her for her own benefit.

"I know how to make a risotto," She sounded a little bit like a petulant child, defensive when she replied to the chef.

She carried on with grabbing supplies before she was finally ready to start prepping the dish. Selecting a knife off of the counter she grabbed an onion and began dicing it, following it with another until a small pile was ready. "How many men do you have in your crew, Pen?" she asked offhandedly, hoping he wouldn't read into the question too much.

"Uhm, there's about twenty-one of us now."

" _Why is no one getting her out of my kitchen?"_ Nyiji chose to ignore Mason's outburst.

She nodded and began to mince the garlic, adding it to the counter when she was finished. "Then I will need more eggs, can you get them from the fridge there?"

Keeping close to the kitchen counter, Penguin made to move before the chef called out to him in a hiss: "Don't you dare go back there!" Mason quickly weaved his way through pirates crowding for a better view and rounded the corner to enter his work-space. "I've got it."

He stalked past her and moved towards the bulging blue fridge where he began collecting cartons of eggs secured in bland cardboard, setting them on the counter beside her. Mason was slowly calming down with her intrusion as a sense of curiosity took over, the need to know more from someone else overthrowing his itching paranoia about what _germs_ she brought into the place. It helped too that this enabled him to limit the amount she touched, thereby containing a further spread into his kitchen. ' _Who knew what germs prisoners carried after all…'_

Pans were set onto the stove top and left to heat up and stock that smelt like chicken was poured into a small saucepan to boil. The first thing to cook was the bacon that was abruptly crushed into tiny pieces once finished and set into a heating tray while the rest of the meal was worked on. The broth of chicken stock bubbled as it heated up, its scent gently filling the galley and drawing in the Heart pirates with its aroma. Sticks of butter melted into a gooey mixture that Nyiji added the onion and garlic to; cooking together until the onions had become a nice golden brown. As soon as the onions were ready, the trays of rice were pulled out from the serving station and mixed into the large frying pan. The rice tossed together with the butter, onions and garlic in a salivating experience, slowly browning in the pan until it was ready for the next step. Nyiji reduced the heat and then asked Mason to pour in the chicken stock, letting him help to stir the pan as it combined with the rice until the mixture had thickened and become creamy. She tasted a piece of the rice to make sure it was still slightly firm in the middle, tender on the outside—it was a good thing the chef hadn't cooked the rice properly before she got her hands on it, or the entire risotto would be ruined.

"It's good, almost done."

Removing the risotto from heat, Nyiji stirred more butter into the pan along with a mixture of Parmesan cheese that she had found, and then finally added the bacon. When it was done, she was surprised to find many faces pressing in from all sides, staring at the food with a raw hunger she hadn't seen before.

"Does—does anyone want the egg yolk on theirs?" she stuttered out.

A series of affirmatives were given and so she prepared a small cup with yellow yolks, tossing away the shells and whites into a garbage that had been tucked beside the sink. Mason wasted no time in dishing up the risotto to the hungry hands of his crew, face pinched as he watched the woman drop a single yolk onto each bowl that asked for it.

"Do you have chopsticks?" she asked Mason, to which he nodded and pointed her in the right direction. She quickly grabbed a handful and began handing them off to a crew member who ran away with their steaming bowl, ready to try a meal from the prisoner. She noticed the chef was glaring at anything she had touched, likely mentally calculating how much he would need to clean after everything was finished.

"I've never seen a risotto prepared…" Mason admitted when she handed the final bowl to him and spooned out a yolk on top of the rice.

"This is amazing!" Penguin cried out after he had taken his first bite. "Mason, eat it! _Eat it!"_

"I am!" he huffed in response, annoyed with the mechanic's behavior. "Get off the counter!"

Nyiji smiled and quietly dug into her own bowl, grateful that a little manipulation had gotten her a warm meal and some knowledge. Twenty-one crew members, that was a lot of bodies to dodge; more than she had seen in the galley, but that could have been due to rotated duties or late sleepers. She resisted asking the eating men if there was a working schedule, she didn't want to be obvious. A collective noise of pleasure drew her attention back to the Heart Pirates as she registered them digging into their bowls, exaggerating wildly how " _delicious_ " the food really was just to further provoke the irritation of Mason. They all seemed so happy, bickering and eating together. It reminded her of earlier moments with Killian before they had taken on ungrateful mercenaries, before _Jiyan_. Back when she had simply been learning her culinary skills and oh how she had been mercilessly teased by her own crew, just like Mason was being teased now.

"Do you like it?" she asked the blonde as he swallowed a mouthful. Mason took a moment to savor the flavors on his tongue before he briskly nodded and shoveled a few more bites into his mouth. "I can teach you other recipes, if you wanted…"

Butting into the conversation before his crewmate had time to answer, Penguin leaned over the counter, pointing his chopsticks at the other man while grinning madly. "You should definitely do that, Mason!"

"Shut up!" the cook scowled over his bowl, irritation boiling beneath his skin. He was itching to wipe down the kitchen and kick the woman out of his space. "Hurry up and get rid of her, Penguin. Before the Captain gets here and chews _me_ out for _your_ doing!"

A small smile curled at her lips as Nyiji leaned against the counter. This action did not go amiss as Mason quite suddenly began yelling at her, eyes bulging out beneath his glasses. He really couldn't handle it anymore. "Out! Out!"

Nyiji allowed Mason to push her out of the kitchen before turning around to watch him stomp towards the sink where he vigorously scrubbed at his hands as if he were trying to wash their contact away. Maybe it was the chef's actions here that caused her to do it, or maybe Nyiji could blame it on the way Penguin grinned at her. Perhaps she could even blame it on the Heart pirates that were still teasing Mason, but in the end the comment slipped out without thought. "Well, I guess now's the time to tell you. I licked one of your bowls…"

Mason immediately hunched over the sink, shoulders taut and body frozen before he began making retching sounds. The bowl he had left on the counter by the sink remained there as he dramatically clutched at his throat and wailed, "Oh god! Oh—Oh God!" through wheezes. Nyiji decided right then and there that this would be a neat trick to take advantage of while she remained trapped on the submarine.

She spent a few more hours in the galley with Penguin afterwards, discussing his germophobic chef and accepting compliments from random crewmembers before Nyiji slipped away with Penguin and returned to the medical closet. Their moods were light and airy as they discussed the risotto, evidently something that Penguin and his fellow crewmates had never had before.

"It really was delicious. I can't believe Mason let you cook—he never lets _anyone_ into the kitchen," Penguin complimented.

"Is he the only chef on board?" she asked innocently.

Penguin nodded as he pulled open the closet door and reached inside to turn on the light bulb. "Has been for ages now. Everyone just got used to his food really, and he's always been—well, like that. So, we never really say anything about it."

"Evidently." she grinned, mentally bringing back the memory of the blonde furiously wiping down everything in the kitchen after he had chased her out, claiming she had done enough contaminating for one day.

As she leaned against the door frame Penguin began to pull boxes off of the storage racks, tearing them open and pulling out spare boiler suits. "Captain made sure we had some spare clothes packed away. It's not much, but I figured you wouldn't mind using them. Your outfit should be done washing soon too."

"Thank you for all of this."

He turned to face her then with a guilty frown etched onto his face. "No, don't thank me Nyiji…"

Nyiji took his forlorn expression as her chance, stepping closer to him and gently laying her hands on his shoulders. "Penguin… it's ok. We both did what we had to—for our Captains. I understand that."

Her bottom lip trembled slightly as she thought about her Captain, about Alistair. She hated being apart from her crew, her family and she hated that a part of her blamed it on Penguin. He was someone she _had_ wanted to call a friend, someone with an easy personality and a charming smile that loved his own crew in his own way. If only she had listened to Killian's advice and stayed away from him things might have turned out differently.

"Listen, please. I… I need to tell you some things, because if I don't do it now… I might never get the chance."

His blue eyes were set on her face like glaciers in the path of an incoming ship. "I'm listening Nyiji."

"This place your Captain wants you to go to… it's death. There's nothing there but death for anyone that goes there. I—I lost everyone I had known, Penguin. I watched them all die and—and I'm afraid the same thing will happen to you."

"Our Captain wouldn't let anything happen to us," Penguin whispered to her, bringing his hands up to hold hers as they continued to rest on his shoulders. "And… nothing will happen to you while you are with us. I promise, it will be OK."

She shook her head and hair splayed out around her as the elastic holding the braid in place finally broke. Black hair fanned out like a curtain around her and light cast down on the top of her head like a halo. There were noticeable tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. When she spoke again, her voice trembled in desperation: "There's nothing anyone can do! He can't protect you—and he certainly won't protect me!"

A silence fell between the two as her words struck him. His hat began to shadow his face as he looked down at the ground, he could feel her hands slipping out of his grasp, dropping off of his shoulders. Penguin didn't know how to comfort her or how to correct the situation. Shachi had warned him when they had first found out about her arrival on the sub that he shouldn't see her again, that it would only complicate matters and that he was too soft-hearted to deal with it… ' _maybe he was right.'_ He thought.

"Penguin," she whispered as she looked at him, "help me."

Penguin felt an iron weight drop in his stomach at her plea. It was exactly like Shachi had warned, he was too soft-hearted and the situation was just too complicated. He had never once doubted his Captain, even now he still trusted Law's decisions, but he couldn't just explain to her why all of this would work out in the end or why they were going to such lengths to begin with. He tried to turn away from her then but she grabbed ahold of his shirt, dragging him back towards her with what little strength she had.

"Please, don't let him take me back to that island—please Penguin." She was desperate as she held him.

Penguin finally looked up to meet her eyes but froze as he saw something over the top of her head, standing in the doorway. "Captain!" he quickly saluted.

Nyiji let her hands fall down to her sides as she realized her time had been cut short. With shaking hands, she turned to face Trafalgar, finding him leaning casually against the doorjamb. The dark circles around his eyes were quite pronounced in the low lighting and his ochre colored orbs were narrowed on her. She felt Penguin move out from behind her and his body brush past her as he tried to squeeze himself past her without creating anymore physical contact. He came to stand in front of his Captain and rubbed awkwardly at his own shoulder.

"I came to relieve you," Law started, "if you two are finished?"

"Yes sir," Penguin answered, sparing Nyiji a passing look before he took off.

Left alone with the pirate Captain, Nyiji did her best to put a cap on her frustration and turned away to deal with the box filled with their boiler suits. It went back on the shelf in no time, pushed between a few other unnamed boxes. The entire time she could feel his eyes on her, his presence never leaving from the doorway.

"I hope you are finding the accommodations to your liking?" Law teased at her back.

He smirked when she spun around to face him with a tight frown. "It's perfect."

"Good. I had hoped to discuss some things with you today."

Nyiji rose an eyebrow and took up a seat on the hammock. It swung from the force of her descent but thankfully didn't upend her as her feet remained rooted to the ground. "I thought I had given you enough information, what is it you want now?"

"I believe it's time we had a little conversation about Jiyan."

"I've already talked to you about it," she said as she turned away from him, hoping her disinterest would dissuade him from the topic. Sadly, he carried on as if she hadn't brushed him off, taking a step further into the room and into her space.

"Yes, you have, with repeated warnings that I would like you to clarify for me. Why are you so terrified of Jiyan Island?"

Nyiji's eyes drew up towards him, a small flicker of hoping residing behind her irises as she tried to determine if this was her moment to try and dissuade him from sailing his crew towards certain death. _'But how much could she tell him that would actually sink in?'_

"We were a crew of forty. More than half the men you have aboard this submarine… and only four of us escaped alive… It—being there, was just a simple job, Trafalgar. It was all supposed to be simple and then…" she choked out a quiet sob as the memories surfaced. "We were hunted down by men, every one of us… please, I am not lying to you. I'm trying to save you—don't go there."

"A simple job?" he tested, eyeing her for false information.

He watched her bite down on her bottom lip, squeezing the flesh so tight he was sure with time she would give herself an injury. Her entire body was vibrating on top of the small cot, even with her feet steeled to the wood below. She appeared to struggle with handing over the information to him. The longer he stared at her the smaller she began to appear, shrinking into her thick curtain of hair that lay loose around her as if it would protect her. She didn't want to betray her Captain's trust, Law respected that, but if his plans were ever going to come to fruition, he needed her on his side—at least for a short time. He moved to collect a particularly heavy box from the cabinet beside her and set it on the ground, making sure it would hold him before he took a seat in front of her, getting down to her level. Law did his best to relax his posture to appear as non-threatening as possible.

His closeness took her by surprise and Nyiji released her bottom lip to answer: "We were just making a delivery to someone there, that's what we often did. Captain had us move things—but we never knew the details…"

"That's how your Captain became involved with the island? He was delivering something?" She nodded, confirming his suspicions. "have you delivered anything to the island before?"

Nyiji shook her head and began to nervously work her fingers through her hair. "No, it was our first time there."

Law bobbed his head and let his eyes fall shut for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "How did your Captain come by that delivery job?"

"I can't tell you." His eyes flashed open.

"Even if your safety relies on it?" he said this with nonchalance, as if the underlying threat wasn't really there. Satisfyingly her external features hardened and she began to lose the traces of fear as she stared at him with lips pressed shut. _'Good, that was a good sign of the boundary.'_ Law leaned back on the cardboard box and crossed his hands in his lap. "Very well, then let's discuss something else—a little routine."

"Routine?" she repeated, mouthing the word in confusion.

"As I am sure Penguin informed you, you'll be free to roam aboard the submarine. There are areas however, that are off-limits. Those are the rooms on the first floor, unless you are with me, and the third and fourth level of the submarine." Law had to wave a hand to stop her interruption at this point, amber eyes flicking over her in a tight glare. "As for a routine—you will come to find everyone on this ship has a work schedule that they follow and you will too. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at eight am, noon and 6pm respectively. I expect you to eat healthy, Puppy-ya and not to disturb my subordinates."

"You're letting me wander your submarine then? So long as it doesn't disturb anyone else?" Nyiji clarified, a little shocked to be hearing of this freedom from the Captain himself. Even though Penguin had carelessly tossed her the information earlier, she hadn't really expected it to be true.

Law gave her an upwards tilt of his chin and a small smile began to curl around his thin lips. "I am, when you are not working, Puppy-ya."

"Working?"

Getting to his feet Law moved back towards the cabinet where he looked at each box, gently tilting each one to get a look at the abbreviations on the side. Satisfied he had found the correct box, he tucked it free and dropped it into her lap. Nyiji let out a small noise at the sudden weight as her hands reflexively grabbed ahold of the cardboard to keep it from spilling on the floor.

"What's this?" she asked as she began to peel the top open.

"A little gift to help you with your job," he answered.

Inside the weighty cardboard box was an arrangement of items very familiar to her; calipers, compasses, bunches of rolled up parchments and graph sheets that were secured with tiny red strings, long wooden rulers and even sets of charcoal—every tool a cartographer would need and more. Silver eyes flashed up to look at the Captain with a trace of confusion on her face. She had already made him a map, why would he give her these tools now?

"I'll leave you to it then. Remember lunch is at noon, Puppy-ya."

"Wait!" she blurted out as she got to her feet, box still held in her hands. "what more exactly do you want?"

As he reached the doorjamb, Law took a moment to think on her words with a dark smile. There was a lot he wanted, and not just from her but from the world. "Create a detailed ground-based map. I want to know exactly what I'll be looking at when we arrive."

Without another parting word he left her alone in the small medical closet that still smelled like antiseptic. When his presence was finally gone her nerves began to relax and she sunk back into the cot with a gentle sway, rocking herself as she looked down at the present she had received. Even if it was to create something more for him, Nyiji appreciated the gift. It had been too long since she had been able to work with charcoal again, even longer since she had held calipers in her hands. Each item inside the box appeared to be brand new, gleaming brilliantly against the pale skin of her hands and just begging to be used. She spent longer than she liked just staring at each item before she decided that she no longer wanted to spend time within her tiny room/closet—after Trafalgar's confirmation that she could explore the submarine, she was in desperate need to not only investigate her prison but to locate a shower. Wearing clean clothes overtop a dirt body felt counterintuitive.

Poking her head out into the hallway, Nyiji's face fell at the appearance of a rounded brown afro in her way, a stern face peering out overtop a white neutral bandana. "Going somewhere?" Uni asked her.

"Yes. Your Captain gave me permission to wander the submarine on my own," she spat back, unable to keep the frustration out of her voice from being halted at nearly every step.

"Odd," he cocked his head to the side, "I didn't hear him say anything about you exploring ' _on your own_ '."

Nyiji pressed her hands into the pockets of her borrowed shorts and turned away from the man with a twist of her heel, leaving him to wander after her as she walked the length of the hallway. She should have known Trafalgar would have put a guard in place—Cyrus would have mocked her for thinking any differently. "Well, if you're going to follow me everywhere, why don't you tell me what all these rooms are?"

Uni's blank eyes drew over each room they passed before his rough voice answered her: "Crew quarters are located on this floor, as well as shared communal spaces: the galley, laundry space, bathroom—"

"The bathroom is on this floor? Show me?"

A small vein appeared on his forehead at the demand and Uni gently pulled the bandana from his face to reveal a mouthful of teeth contained within an abnormally small mouth. That wasn't the strangest part, Nyiji noted, as sticking out from his cheeks and chin were long spikes, the color of his skin at the base that grew a darker maroon the longer they extended. They moved independently from each other, wiggling as if they were tasting the air.

"You're a fishman?" she gasped out, surprised by the reveal.

Uni took a dangerous step forward, finger still hooked in the bandana around his throat. "I am, and you would do well to remember your place aboard this submarine."

Nyiji instinctively took a step back even as Uni concealed his face once more behind the bandana. He walked away without another look at her, a feeling of satisfaction buried in his chest for inciting a moment of fear within her. She moved after him, albeit at a much slower pace to create distance between them. He came to a stop about five doors down from her tiny closet and pushed open the door, checking inside for any occupants before stepping aside for her to look in at the bathroom.

The room itself wasn't very big but the arrangement of space made it appear quite open. A series of robust sinks were setup against the wall near the door with a large stretch of mirror bolted above them. To the back of the room, straight across from the sinks was a wall of wood and sandstone that framed cubicles that were seated with toilets. About five cubicles in all Nyiji counted, surely a small number compared to the men that lived and worked aboard the submarine. Venturing into the room she noted another set of cubicles, doors framed with wood along the corner side of the room, slightly elevated up from the floor by a small layer of added stonework. Pushing open one of the doors revealed an elongated space that housed a darker set of tiles at the back, a small drain on the floor and two nozzles pressing out of the wall with a showerhead above them. Nyiji grinned, glad that they had privacy for the showers. It was all so advanced compared to the Rook's ship, where they only had a small room that housed an even smaller tap, that drew in sea water for them to bathe with after filling up buckets. Turning around in one of the shower stalls, she cast a glance at Uni to find he had remained outside the bathroom's door, apparently waiting for her to finish exploring.

"Can I, uhm… use the shower in here?" she asked timidly, still aware of the man's twitching spikes beneath the cloth on his face.

Uni stepped in and gave her a long silent stare before he exited the room and shut the door behind him, granting her the space she needed. Nyiji slammed the showers stall door closed and began to pull off the over-sized clothes from her body, discarding them onto a stool. Her skin was practically crawling from the dried sweat that had caked on her during her period of confinement in their brig. With a few twists of the unmarked nozzles Nyiji stuck her hand out to test the steady stream of water, unaware of what she was about to experience. The moment the water touched her skin, it felt as if the energy had been drained from her body, turning her sluggish. Stepping into the spray only increased that feeling tenfold, nearly bringing her down to her knees with the intensity. The warm water should have been comforting, easing her muscles, not performing the opposite. She felt sick all at once as it hit her— _'the devil fruit. How had she forgotten?'_

She had to remind herself that it was easy to forget when she hadn't really felt anything different since consuming the salty fruit. Well, nothing but an empty thirst, at least. Still able to move beneath the waters spray even though her body resisted each movement, Nyiji hurried to wash herself clean and exit. As she recovered, she allowed herself to wonder if the effects would be worse if she were instead submerged in water, be it the ocean or a bath. Would she still be able to swim? Keep her head above water? Did prolonged exposure to water increase its effects on her or was it all about depth?

Finally, she thought about her devil fruit and the emptiness in her gut. She still had no idea what it had done to her, or what she could do. Was that even normal? ' _If only there was a devil fruit user she could speak to.'_

* * *

 _Author's note; This chapter was a figurative beast to edit, being over 14K in size and nearly 25 pages, it took me ages. A lot longer than I thought it would, I apologize to everyone that was waiting! But, I hope the length and content make up for it and keep me in your good graces. - I even had to ask the boyfriend to help me edit this ...creature. because at some point, my brain just gave up. So, you have him to thank for this chapter even getting out today :D_

 _I want to give HUGE thank you's to everyone that has continued to add this story to their favorites and follows, and those that have reviewed. You guys are just the best! You make all the frustration of editing this worth it._

 _I do want to warn though that the next chapter, which is over 10K in words, won't be coming out right away as I'm going to take a well-deserved break after this monstrosity to finally play Kingdom Hearts III-which is a game I have been waiting so many many years for, I literally dissolve into these weird confusing tears whenever I turn the game on. Any-who, I will still work on editing the next chapter here and there, between gaming breaks. Just wanted to give a heads-up. - R.O'H._


	5. Chapter Five

Aboard the Polar Tang hidden underneath the water's surface, pirates moved in a flurry as they pretended to complete their daily tasks and duties without actually finishing a thing. Anything to move onto their free time just that millisecond earlier than normal. Now it wasn't unlike the Heart Pirates to shirk their tasks every now and again, usually in favor of some entertainment or a little break. At the end of the day they would have finished their work and usually those that slacked off were only two or three at a time, creating little disturbance on board. So, when the newest gossip had made its rounds, Uni had been able to handle the first few crewmembers ready to get their kicks in. It was early in the morning and he figured by midday they would have given up and returned to their work; that was his first mistake. When the number of pirates playing pranks seemed to only increase as the hours ticked by it was clear that the crew was taking their procrastination and fun to an entirely different level, plaguing Uni with endless questions of his whereabouts. He'd tried earlier to extinguish their harassment with threats of his own, questioning the status of their work but that had only seemed to make the situation worse.

"So, you _haven't_ left the laundry room yet?"

"Of course not!" Uni barked back through the tube, glaring at the tube's mouthpiece for the hundredth time that day. "Why the hell is everyone asking where I am today?"

"No reason!" the tube would call back, voice always varying with every call.

The afroed pirate had eventually given up on trying to berate his teammates, especially when not four minutes later the body of their furred navigator would appear giving him a clear answer for what the others were up to. It was a headache and guaranteed him about an hour of waste just trying to calm not only the prisoner down but also poor Bepo who had only come down under the pretense of ' _helping them'_ to begin with. It didn't help that the minkman was completely blind to his crewmate's shenanigans.

For Uni it made one entire day of work go by slower than a snail's pace. Towards the end of the day it was clear that an impact had been made against everyone's overall workload and with the crew hurrying to finish their duties before night fell, he felt a small sliver of hope that their pranks were finally done. Of course, right when he had thought they were finished with their schemes, Bepo would appear and the horror would start all over again. From what he could gather over the course of the day, his crewmates would nearly complete their duties before it was shirked off onto their navigator with some sort of excuse that _somehow_ required the minkman to visit Uni and the prisoner—how Bepo kept falling for this though, was beyond Uni. The mystery of this even carried onto their Captain who hadn't failed to notice a distinct lack of finalized paperwork in his office later that night.

Flicking through another empty binder void of signatures and daily reports, Law grimaced and rest his cheek to his palm. Normally missing a few meager sheets at the end of the day wouldn't have been an issue—especially since anyone in charge of the reports usually had a good reason for the delay—but after the sun had set and another hour had past, he'd grown more than concerned. Even the supply sheets and general wear reports on the submarines condition that indicated whether or not something might become an issue down the line, were missing. It hadn't skipped his attention either that his crew seemed to be dodging their end-of-day work after news had gotten out about the prisoner's ' _free-roam.'_ Though a quick call to Uni had confirmed and dashed his assumptions that she had gone anywhere to stir up the crew. Rather than incriminate her, his subordinate had instead sworn up and down that Puppy hadn't gone anywhere but her bedroom and the laundry room, obediently following his orders, making it unlikely that she was to blame. Still, with only assumptions to work on Law was without a solution to the real problem, which was still a distinctive lack of paperwork on his desk. The only thing that had actually made it to his desk happened to be a tray full of supper in the hands of his navigator, who shuffled into the room without a regular greeting. Reaching out to collect a mug of steaming black coffee first, Law took a grateful sip before he examined his friends sluggish and depressed movements. The bear's shoulders were hunched forward, his back slouched to diminish his towering form and his ears were curled and pressed down; clear signs that something had unsettled him.

"Bepo? Something bothering you?" Law asked.

He watched Bepo's typical mannerisms as the minkman hid his dampened mood by fluffing the collar of his fur, picking his ears back up and straightening out his posture. "Of course not, Captain!" came the cheery response, but there was no hiding the discomfort in his eyes.

Law took another pull of the dark coffee, savoring the bitter liquid before he set the cup down. There were ways around Bepo's secretive behavior which he had learnt and mastered throughout the years. Usually all it took was an indirect line of questioning to crack the minkman paired with the right amount of food. Eyeing his coffee for a moment, he decided on his next course of action and without giving his friend time to think, he spoke up: "Has it been a busy day? I haven't received any of the usual reports yet."

Bepo shuffled between his feet but otherwise kept his facial mask in place, cheerfully offering to stop by and check in with those that hadn't handed in their reports yet. Law shook his head before the minkman could get any further.

"That's alright, Bepo. I was just hoping you could tell me about your day."

And just as Law had expected of his friend, with barely any prodding, Bepo began to give up his problems of the day without even realizing: "Well, it has been very busy. I've been getting called a lot to help out a few of the men and haven't spent much time at the helm because of it—oh, but don't worry, Tako's been taking care of navigation for me. We're still about a week out from our destination."

Law bobbed his head along with the information, a soft grin playing on his lips as he watched his navigator rattle the information off. "What exactly have the others been asking you to help out with?"

"Nothing too big, just carting a few things around the submarine," the bears ears flattened again and he tore his gaze away from his Captain to stare off at one of the bookshelves. "though I kept running into Uni and the prisoner…"

A flicker of recognition appeared in Law's eyes as he glanced down at the empty binders that should have been filled with paperwork. Chewing the inside of his cheek, he pushed back into his chair and crossed his hands over his stomach. News of the prisoner's irrational fear of the minkman had appeared to spread much faster than he had anticipated. Being only one of three that had witnessed the event though, Law could easily guess as to how the information had gotten out. It now made perfect sense to him why end-of-day binders were empty, and why Bepo was in such a downcast mood.

"I suppose that went about as well as expected?" Law asked after clearing his throat.

Bepo nodded as he physically shrunk into his orange boiler suit, letting the collar press into the fur around his neck. Taking action, Law stood from his chair and gestured for his friend to take a seat on one of the lounging couches with the hopes it would help him relax. As Bepo settled onto the furniture piece, his size taking up two cushions of the couch, Law took a seat opposite him and let his expression slip into one of concern.

"You don't need to be doing any extra work, Bepo. Have you even eaten yourself yet?"

The bear shook his white furry head. "I was going to get something on my way back to the helm."

In a move that was quite common between the two, Law stood up and collected the meal Bepo had brought him only minutes ago and placed it on the small table between them. Without any words, Bepo brightened up and reached out to steal slivers of baked fish from a plate while Law dug into a bowl of plainly seasoned rice. The two ate together in silence, only resuming conversation once the meal was half-finished.

Bepo spoke up first, brushing off flakes from his chest with a large sweeping paw. "I should get back to take over for Tako before he runs us into something…"

"Take the rest of the night off," Law ordered instead, hoping his friend would take it as a comment of concern rather than a command. "Tako can handle it. You've done a lot today."

Bepo brightened and his eyes shone as he watched his Captain scoop a few more mouthfuls of rice casually between his lips with a pair of chopsticks. Law's cheeks were full and his eyes were dark from a lack of sleep but even with this ongoing tiredness, he was always worrying about him; it warmed the bears heart.

"What about the others though? I'm still supposed to help move some things from the engine room—"

"The engine room?" Law cut the minkman off, quirking an eyebrow up high into his hairline. "Who asked you to do that?"

A confused expression overtook Bepo's face, his eyes squinting and head tilting which was all Law needed to deduce the answer without either having to speak; so, when Bepo finally voiced his thoughts, he already knew what to expect. "But sir, didn't you want me to help them? Shachi said so just before I came up here…"

Law's upper lip twitched as he tried to conceal a smirk. "Shachi can manage on his own. Just take the night off Bepo."

He waited until the minkman had saluted him and hurried out of his chambers before moving back to the voice tube on the wall, flipping the lid open without hesitation. Voices poured out, carried to him from all over the submarine. Though he couldn't hear Shachi speaking, he knew the redhead was somewhere continuing to have his fun. Being Penguin's confidant and best friend, he had likely learned about the prisoner's irrational fears from him and gone from there. That made Law's target much easier.

"Hey, Shachi?" Law called into the tubes open mouth. He waited a moment for the chatter to come to a silent pause before a voice called back, laced with a playful tone.

"Yah Cap? What's up?"

"Just had Bepo stop by," his voice was teasing. Law knew full well that the comment would frighten the mechanic. "Mind coming up?" he asked when the man failed to respond.

There was a stuttered cough before the mechanic answered, "Y-yeah, be right up…"

"Great. Bring your paperwork with you."

Flipping the tube's lid closed he returned to the spot on the couch and dug back into the remnants of his meal while he waited. Admittedly it was difficult hiding the amusement he felt towards his crew's actions, even if it was a hindrance in the end, so he practiced schooling his features. When Shachi finally made his way up to his chambers, carting a case full of books in his arms, Law could only offer the nervous mechanic a reprimanding glare that barely concealed a grin. The redhead stuttered out a simple greeting before handing over the binders full of reports and then took to standing at the side of the couch, shifting nervously from foot to foot. Though his sunglasses kept his eyes hidden there was no doubt that Shachi knew he had been caught.

Opening the first binder and scanning through each page, Law spoke without looking up: "Take a seat, Shach'."

Shifting from foot to foot Shachi hesitated a moment before taking up a seat on the opposite couch. Now that he was sitting his anxiety grew, so evident on his angular face that Law could feel the air in the room thicken, palpable with the redhead's fear. Letting a few quiet moments pass between them, just to keep Shachi wriggling on a hook, Law spoke up again after he had finished reading the reports: "We're still missing the final counts from engineering."

Pulling the green cap off the top of his head and scratching his scalp, Shachi answered: "Ya, Isana's still working on them. We were a little behind today."

Eyes glancing up towards his mechanic, Law finally showcased his hidden grin. "Even with Bepo helping?" he asked, a dangerous and teasing lilt to his voice.

Shachi's pale skin took on a bright pink sheen then. Thumb on his cheek, while his other hand swatted the air, he could only exclaim: "It was only a little prank, Captain…"

Law folded his hands in his lap and let himself rest back into the couch cushions. "A prank, ya? One that has affected the entire sub and upset Bepo. I'm sure you've disturbed Uni's work as well, with all of your plotting."

Shachi had the good sense to look embarrassed, casting his eyes down to the ground and letting his head sink. He heard the binder hit the table between them, a loud thud that resonated throughout the room and flinched.

"If I catch wind of anyone else sending Bepo around the prisoner, there will be punishments. Do you understand?"

Shachi nodded fiercely, "I'll send word around the crew in the morning."

Dismissing his friend from his quarters, Law let his head fall back and pinched the bridge of his nose as a headache began to build behind his eyes. "In the morning…" he grumped to himself, well aware that it left plenty of time for Shachi to cause just a little more mischief.

* * *

Morning came fast the next day as the Heart Pirates awoke and started their morning rituals before breakfast. Those that made it into the galley first thing were creating a general raucous as they collected their meals and dug in, only to begin shouting complaints at their chef a second later. Mason did his best to dutifully ignore them, but it was clear as time wore on that his small reserves were running out. After finishing fixing up a beef stew that would last the rest of the day, he began to clean and wipe down his kitchen and tools with fervor.

" _This is kind of dry, isn't it?"_ he heard whispered from the nearest table. He scrubbed harder at a particular spot on the counter, wearing thin the lacquer.

Another voice spoke up in reply, much louder than his companion: "Chewy, too."

Mason felt his eyebrow twitch. In an attempt to ignore the comments, he poured his full focus onto cleaning the counter. ' _Sweep the crumbs first, then scrub the stains. Finish with three passes of antibacterial soap and then another wipe just to be sure.'_ These patterns were calming and helped him remain in control, soothing him as he moved every piece of equipment from its place just to get behind them to clean and scrub at the walls and cracks. He had done this just last night which meant there was very little that actually needed another once over, but Mason was a man determined not to let a speck of dirt infiltrate his safe space, no matter the cost.

"Hey Mason," one of his crewmates called for his attention; he had a long face tucked underneath a mop of lengthy brown hair, tangled up in untamed waves. "When are you going to let the prisoner cook again?"

With a ' _tsk'_ , Mason threw his rag down into the sink and spun on his heel to glare at his crewmate with an expression of total fury. With eyes enlarged beneath his spectacles, however, what was meant to be menacing only made the chef appear comical and the men began to laugh around him. Silencing their laughter with a hand slamming down on the counter, Mason seethed through gritted teeth: "I hear one more word and I'll slip fucking _bleach_ into your next meal."

The group immediately sealed their lips, laughter dying down to giggles and quiet heckles about the blonde's temper. It didn't satisfy Mason though. Ever since the prisoner had weaseled her way into his kitchen, wooing over his crew with ' _risotto_ ', he'd heard nothing but complaints. As if she had broken open a dam that had once held his crewmates in line, the comments now came in floods that were threatening to drown him. There was no sanitizing the woman's corruption. Moving out of his work space after setting the stew to simmer, Mason took up a seat in one of the alcove booths in the far corner of the galley with the hopes of being alone and fell into a slumped position. He wished the seat would swallow him whole like some angry yellow whale.

A group entered the galley as he sulked and began to fix themselves a few trays with bowls of stew; they appeared to be grateful not to see the grumpy chef standing behind the buffet table, glaring them down with a silent dare to comment on the prepared meals. When their breakfast was collected, they scanned the room before they found him stewing and made their way over. Mason groaned.

"Eh, Mason!" Shachi, one of the red-haired mechanics, greeted him as he slipped into the booth at his side. "You hear the latest?"

Adjusting his spectacles that were sliding down the bridge of his nose, Mason gave his crewmember a surly expression. It was obvious the chef had been expecting another complaint regarding his cooking. "No," he answered flatly.

Ignoring his friends bad-mood, Shachi spooned a mouthful of broth and cubed beef into his mouth before beginning to talk around it. Mason grimaced. "Pen was telling me about the prisoner, right? And a few days ago, he says the Captain had to knock her out. Apparently, she's got a wee' bit of a fear for animals! Scared to death of Bepo!"

The blonde chef immediately brightened, recovering from his slouch to straighten his spine in interest. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Clione, a sandy-haired blonde swordsman with a bowl-cut, answered his enthusiasm with his usual lisp: "Bepo snuck up on her, scared her something fierce!"

Shachi's face blanched and he turned towards Clione, glaring over the tops of his sunglasses. Speaking with a monotonous voice, he scolded him: "Seriously Clione? Stop. Just stop." The man rightfully turned away in embarrassment, wiping away spittle from his own cheek.

The redhead turned away, energy and enthusiasm back to normal as he practically vibrated in his seat. As if he hadn't just berated his crewmate, he addressed Mason once more: "Anyway, few of us thought to test it out, you know, see if it's a fluke."

"Sure," Mason added, practically feeling his own eyes roll around in his sockets. "Sounds reasonable."

The mechanic ignored the sarcasm. "It's hilarious, Mace. We've been sending him on odd jobs, mostly to check on her—and she loses it! Bepo doesn't even _know_ what to do!"

A fear of animals, now that was something that Mason could work with. Shielding his grinning face beneath the guise of adjusting his glasses the blonde skirted himself out of the booth, no longer sulking. "Where _is_ the prisoner, anyway?" She hasn't been in for breakfast yet, has she?" he asked, voice excessively saccharine.

Shachi grinned at him from the booth, large and toothy, before diving back into his stew where he took a few more mouthfuls before answering. "Uni has her cleaning the common room, I think. Don't know about the breakfast—hey, where you goin'? Mace?"

On a warpath to his kitchen, Mason ignored the imploring eyes and set about filling up a spare bowl with his recently made stew. He almost wished he hadn't turned the pot down to simmer so the broth would still be boiling. Fixing the bowl onto a tray along with a small plastic spoon that he dug out of the drawer— _'less likely to injure anyone that way,_ ' he reasoned—Mason then turned to face a small capped tube on the kitchen wall. The tubes ran throughout the submarine allowing for an ease of communication; all it took to specify where your voice carried were a few flicks to a switch on the side.

When the dial was set, Mason called out for their navigator: "Oi, Bepo? Are you free?"

If he had been paying attention Mason surely would have seen Shachi grinning madly from across the room. If he had been paying attention, he might have even seen Clione calling out a warning before the redhead shushed him into silence—everything could have been avoided, if only he had been paying attention. Instead, Mason's sole focus was on the voice rattling back through the tube.

"I am, what is it?" the minkman called.

"Could you do me a favor and stop by the kitchen? I need you to make a delivery for me."

The minkman made a noise of agreement before the tube fell silent and Mason secured the cap. It wasn't uncommon for him to make requests of the bear for the purpose of delivering meals and drinks—though usually this was only done for the sole purpose of feeding their Captain. Still he was pretty confident that Bepo wouldn't refuse him in this instance.

"Does that mean food delivery extends to the rest of us too?" Shachi called out, drawing attention to Mason's motives for anyone not paying enough attention. He snickered when the blonde scowled at him and barked a "No!"

A few moments later their furred navigator appeared inside the galley, rubbing a paw against his black beady eye to rid himself of the sleep leftover from a long and deserved nap. "Did the Captain request another cup?" he asked as he came to a stop in front of Mason. Sluggish Bepo looked over the meal before correcting himself: "I thought he already ate?"

"He did," Mason confirmed with a head nod, "But uhm—he asked if you would take this to the prisoner. She hasn't eaten yet."

The minkman let out a small barely noticeable whine, ears flattening against his head as he took the tray into his paws. Those watching in the background grinned and turned back in their seats. Whenever it came to an order from their Captain, Bepo had always followed without question—it made it almost too easy for the others to take advantage of him. Eyeballing the stew, he let out another noise before quietly trudging off to complete his task without complaint.

Before he could escape too far out of the room, Mason called out: "She's in the common room with Uni!"

Heading down the hall while balancing his tray, Bepo made it halfway to the common room before he was nearly sidelined by a door opening into him. Managing to keep the bowl from spilling, he squeaked as a familiar bob of brown hair poked out from around the door to look at him; a pair of blank white eyes squinted and took in his appearance.

"Fuck sakes," Uni cursed as he turned back to face the room he was fleeing. "Stay in there," he ordered before slamming the door closed and rounding on his crewmate. "Bepo, what are you doing here? Didn't the Captain tell you to stay away from the prisoner? Who the hell put you up to it this time?"

Stuttering out an apology, the bear bowed meekly under the man's gaze. "W-well, Mason as-asked."

Running a hand over his forehead in irritation, Uni reached out to take the tray from the navigator, impatiently turning back to reopen the door a second later. He couldn't fault the navigator for being so gullible, but that wasn't going to stop him from taking his frustration out on the next person to irritate him.

"Hey, food's here."

Inside the small medical storage closet that had been converted into her room, Nyiji sat underneath the small hammock curled up into the corner. After spending the entirety of yesterday around the bear with his random appearances, Uni had thought her fears for him would lessen but they had only seemed to grow with each interaction. She jumped and started at the smallest noise and refused to leave her quarters, even to explore the submarine. While this made his job much easier it was also a hassle that he was tired of dealing with.

"What kind of pirate are you?" Uni scowled at her. "Afraid of a god damn bear."

"Bears are dangerous—they're wild animals!" she snapped back, a little semblance of fire returning to her eyes.

A near silent " _sorry_ " could be heard behind the door as Bepo listened to the two argue, his large form slumping as their yelling grew. Uni, prone to physically asserting his dominance, slammed a heavy fist into the door and took a step forward to tower over the cowering girl. At least he could appreciate her pushing past the fear to argue with him; these were the only real moments that he felt she acted genuine with him.

"He's no more wild than any of us! Stand up!" thrusting the food tray out, Uni gave her a second to shamble out from beneath the hammock to accept the offer.

"You're just as wild," she rebuked and scowled at the man hiding his urchin traits beneath the bandana around his face. "But I suppose there is no honor among you."

"The Captain's given you plenty of honor, in my opinion, putting you up in this room, _Prisoner_ ," Uni spat, taking a step forward to enter her personal space. "I've yet to see yours."

Frightened by his ferocity and words, Nyiji was sent fumbling backwards into her hammock where she nearly spilt the tray and bowl of stew all over herself as she swayed in the bed of ropes. There was a mumbled whisper by her ear, soft and full of warning that urged her to be more careful with her words if she wished to escape her current situation but when she looked, she couldn't find the body to accompany them. Nervously her hand wound around the spyglass at her hip, thumb unconsciously finding its engraved initials.

Standing his ground, Uni continued to give her a stare down that would terrify any member of the Giant race, before he sighed. "Forget it," calling over his shoulder, he addressed the minkman outside: "Bepo, go back to where you belong. I'll go see the Captain in a moment and report this."

Outside the door they heard the minkman respond before his heavy footfalls faded away. Uni chose then to step back and leave, slamming the door closed behind him. Left alone with a racing heart and a tray of food, Nyiji squeezed her eyelids shut until she could see nothing but a spectacular screen of white. She hadn't meant to continue antagonizing the fishman. After all, the angrier he was with her the less he left her alone which made exploration difficult. Though Uni hadn't done anything to keep her locked and confined in the room, his mere presence was enough to dissuade her from looking for an escape route.

Frustrated with her situation she kicked one of the metal-shelving units, disturbing a few boxes and hurting her toe. "God dammit!" she cursed with her mistake. Trying to shake the pain from her foot while still handling the tray of food, she removed herself from the hammock and set the tray down and sunk to the floor beside it.

Since arriving aboard this metal death trap her stomach had been in knots that she didn't imagine would be easing anytime soon. Current issues aside, Nyiji had been fretting over the maps of Jiyan that Trafalgar had requested of her. With the supplies he had given her, she'd tried working on the pieces for him but only two days after his original request, she hadn't been able to draw a thing. Every time she picked up a piece of charcoal or pen, her hand shook until it dropped whatever it was holding and her lungs squeezed until she had a coughing fit on the floor. Nothing about her situation was comfortable. The thought of returning to that place had stilled her hand and suffocated her thoughts.

A thought came to her in a voice not her own, ' _Could always get your hands on some poison…'_

She shook the thought away before it could take root. All she had to do was hold out long enough for her Captain to rescue her. Surely he would figure something out to come and help her; Alistair wouldn't just leave her high and dry. She was loyal to him and that loyalty meant something which is what she told herself when the fear became too much and she had to calm herself down.

When Uni returned, unlocking the bedroom door that she hadn't realized he had locked on his way out, he waved at her to follow him out into the hallway. "C'mere. Captain has some new orders."

Stew forgotten on the floor, Nyiji stood on wobbly legs and made her way out of the room. She knew she looked like a newborn calf as she tried to shake the pins and needles out of her limbs but there was no helping it. Stepping outside of the medical storage closet, she stopped and looked down each end of the hallway to make sure the bear wasn't around.

"Relax," Uni said with a sigh after a long pause. "Bepo's not around."

' _There's no escape anyway,'_ she thought. It alarmed her that once again, the voice felt foreign and abnormal. At least this time she knew where it was coming from; the voice playing upon her insecurities and fears. Ignoring it, Nyiji fumbled forward after Uni as he led them towards the galley. The room was flooded with noise, howls of laughter and cheer that felt wrong when compared to her predicament but still soothing to her. The kitchen had always felt like a comfortable and safe space, even on an enemy's ship—or, submarine.

"What are we doing here?" she tried asking her guard as he stomped towards the kitchen's front counter.

Beneath his bandana, his mouth curved into a grin that reached his eyes. "Oi, Mason, get over here!"

A hush fell over the galley as pirates turned to look at the newcomers, all filled with an interest as Mason stomped towards them, hands tucked into an apron that was tied to his waist and clearly oblivious towards what was coming.

"What is it?" Mason barked, glancing briefly at the prisoner before focusing his attention on his crewmate.

Gesturing towards her, Uni answered: "While it brings me no pleasure Mace, Cap had orders to quit sending Bepo around the prisoner—"

"Wait, what?" swiveling to glare at the back of the room, Mason had no time to shout before Uni carried on talking.

"So, looks like you'll be having help for the next few days in the kitchen. She's to help prepare the meals. Which means, **you** get to watch her."

"NO!" the chef cried and pointed an accusing finger at Nyiji, continuing on screaming as if she weren't apart of the conversation. "You can't seriously trust a prisoner with our meals?! She'll dirty my kitchen again! It already took me an entire day to clean her germs away, and she was only in my space for an hour! Days!? Do you know what damage she can cause with days!?"

Choosing to ignore the blonde man's comments, albeit temporarily, Nyiji turned to face Uni and asked him for clarification: "Your Captain is giving me permission to cook again?"

"He is," he answered, letting his afro bob with his nods. "I'd say watch your mouth while you're here, but I have a feeling that's not the point of this punishment."

She almost laughed but held back upon noticing the purple coloring Mason's face. Now might now be the best time to further antagonize the chef. Anyway, it appeared that his crew was doing enough of that for her; their laughter and satirical comments were so loud, it was difficult to hear her own thoughts. She could only imagine how terrible Mason felt. Swallowing and rubbing her sweaty palms on the hips of her shorts, Nyiji timidly reached an open hand towards the chef in an act of creating peace and concord between them.

Reacting as she had expected, Mason visibly recoiled from her. "Don't point that at me! Do you know how many germs hide under one's fingernails?! Crawling all over your skin every moment—every—oh—oh, oh go—" gagging cut him short and ended his speech before he could continue on venting. Fleeing the room, Mason ran with a hand over his mouth before he made himself physically sick.

Watching him go with a grin, Uni adjusted the bandana around his cheeks and shot a thumb directed at the empty kitchen space. "I'd say take advantage of his absence, if I were you."

For once she completely agreed with the man. Rushing past him with her spyglass bouncing noisily off her hip, Nyiji took note of the kitchens state before she began her work. A pot was still simmering on the stove, likely filled with the stew that had been brought to her earlier. She hadn't had a chance to taste it yet, so she fished a spoon from one of the drawers for a taste test. One mouthful told her all she needed to know. The stew was meant to have tender cubed beef that fell apart in your mouth, its broth lightly seasoned and spiced with various vegetables but the Heart's Chef had instead overcooked the meat, making it tough and chewy and burnt the surprisingly over-seasoned stew. It was so terrible all she could taste was _heat_. Not spice, just heat…and char. Even the vegetables were hard.

"See! I told you she wouldn't like it either!" she heard one of the men shout from the lounge couches, hand flailing in the air towards her. "Hey Uni? Is she really going to cook for us again?"

The afroed pirate merely nodded in reply as he glanced over at his crewmate. There were numerous bowls of uneaten stew spread around the galley's tables, though some of the men were still trying to eat out of sheer hunger.

"Uhm… do you—is there a fisherman onboard?" Nyiji called out to Uni, an idea forming in her mind that would allow her to utilize the ruined stew to create something entirely different.

"Why do you need to know that?" Uni grumped at her.

He watched her chewing on her lower lip as the nerves returned, a fear bubbling beneath her gaze that had hounded her the past few days while the crewmates had tricked Bepo into visiting her personal space. Swearing to himself he was only telling her because he was sick of seeing that fear, Uni answered: "What exactly do you need?"

A little smile pulled at her lips, innocent and pleasant. He rolled his eyes and turned away from it. "Shrimp."

"Shrimp?" he repeated. "We don't have any right now."

"Well, you're on a submarine… I had figured one of you might be capable of fishing some…?" the hesitancy with which she asked only made his scowl deepen beneath the cloth around his face.

"How many do you need?"

Surprised but happy that he was willing to assist her, Nyiji recounted the number of crewmates that Penguin had told her about days ago. "A dozen or so would be perfect!"

"Can do that." His head bobbed once more, hair dancing. Turning to leave the galley to find another crewmate to assist Uni was stopped by her call.

"Uni?" it was the first time she had said his name, so sweetly and full of that woman's tenor. _God, he hated having a woman onboard._ "Will I be making a new meal for breakfast, or prepare a lunch and dinner?"

"Just work on lunch and dinner," He called back over his shoulder before fleeing the galley.

Once the fishman was gone from sight Nyiji whirled into action, focused on collecting all of her equipment before she started work. It made it easier to ignore the sets of unfamiliar and masculine eyes on her intently watching as she worked. Tools collected, Nyiji moved back to the premade stew and strained the mixture into another pot so the broth could be reused. The meat was inedible unfortunately so it was tossed; vegetables though heavily seasoned and undercooked could be resuscitated. Once the old stew was sorted, she looked into the fridge and began to pull out everything else she would need. It was a little difficult working and moving around the unfamiliar kitchen without Penguin or Mason around to point out where something was but she managed. As she worked the chatter in the room picked back up as the men returned to ignoring her, for which she was grateful. Of course, if she had been paying attention, she would have noticed that this was caused by a few pirates entering the galley and not out of general disinterest.

"Flour, flour…" she muttered as she danced around the room, scanning shelves until she found what she was looking for.

The meal she had in mind for dinner would take at least an hour to cook and even less to prepare with all the elements involved so as a surprise, Nyiji checked each nook and cranny for ingredients to fix a dessert that would pair well with a spicy dish. "Muted, muting flavors, _muuute_ …" humming unconsciously with each thought, she grew entirely unaware of her surroundings as she bounced up from the fridge exclaiming: "CHEESE!" after finding the perfect ingredients.

"Cheese?" one of the men repeated, turning to glance at his partner. "How does cheese mute?"

"I assume if you stuff it far enough down one's throat?" Came the reply that was knocked away by a hand slamming into his chest.

"She's too little for that!" his friend cackled, unaware of having just knocked the wind out of him.

A bag was grabbed and filled with sweet graham crackers that Nyiji proceeded to crush into a near fine mixture of crumbs and then set aside. She had yet to find a cake pan but was sure that Mason would have hidden one somewhere on the submarine, he seemed like he had a secret sweet tooth. Unfolding the square treasures of cream cheese and setting them on a plate, Nyiji set the entire thing over the pot on the stove to help defrost and melt the cream cheese into a softer state that would be easier to work with while simultaneously ensuring that its lack of contact with the stove's element wouldn't melt it into a puddle.

When Mason finally returned to the kitchen, over his gagging and nausea, he found her rifling through his space while looking for a cake pan. Anger immediately reignited, he opened his mouth to start yelling at her only for his Captain's appearance to catch the corner of his eye; relaxed in one of the booths with a clear view of the kitchen.

"Fucking Shachi…" he cursed before he pulled the paper mask around his throat up and over his ears to cover his nose and mouth. Not only did it help disguise his distaste for her presence, it would keep him relatively germ-free.

Hesitant to enter the kitchen while she was a flurry of movement, Mason called to her: "What are you looking for now?"

"Oh!" whirling around at his sudden reappearance, Nyiji greeted him with a smile. "Welcome back Mason. I'm looking for a cake pan."

Glaring at her flushed cheeks and wild hair, he pointed at a space beneath the stove where a small drawer could be spotted. "If you're going to be in here, ruining my space, you're going to follow my rules. Got it?"

"Rules, ya, ya, got it," she muttered back as she dug through the revealed drawer, locating exactly what she needed. "Perfect."

"Hey! Stop touching everything then and wash your hands!" he berated, pointing at the sink as if to punctuate his demand.

Wiggling her fingers at him once her hands were free, Nyiji giggled and answered, "Already did."

"Not to my standards! Up to the elbow!" he directed, mimicking his words.

"Alright, alright." Heeding the man's direction and scrubbing her hands clean once more, Nyiji turned to him and flashed her hands for a mock inspection. Sadly, he took it quite seriously, leaning in to make sure she had scrubbed adequately under her nails before deciding she should wash again.

It took her three more attempts before he finally accepted her in his space and by then her cream cheese was finally soft enough to use. Removing it from heat and turning the stove off, she returned to dashing around the kitchen.

"And a hairnet!" Mason wheezed as he watched her braid sway behind her. He couldn't imagine a strand of hair that long getting lost in someone's meal—the thought alone was enough to make his stomach churn unhealthily. "Dear god!" he wailed, "Your hair!"

"What's wrong with my hair?" she asked as she worked butter and sugar into her mixture of crumbs. "It's tied back and I've never lost a strand in my meals before."

The man flailed comically, reminding her of a whistle blowing steam from its top. "That's not the point! The point is this is my kitchen!"

Hands covered in the sticky crumbs, Nyiji reached out and tapped the curly haired man's nose teasingly, smearing the concoction on him. He recoiled, eyes looking like saucers in his head behind the spectacles. A few crewmates that had witnessed the action laughed uproariously, enjoying the spectacle.

"Your kitchen," Nyiji repeated as she skirted him and respectfully looked for a hairnet. "Where are your spares?"

Already tired of her antics Mason turned to face the entire galley, desperate for his Captain to see sense and put the prisoner back where she belonged. "Captain! Please! It's not my fault! Shachi's the one that told me about Bepo in the first place!"

Glancing over her shoulder at the man, Nyiji scowled upon realizing that the bears random appearances had in fact been planned by members of Trafalgar's crew in order to scare her. It reminded her of the hazing she had endured by the older pirates when she had first joined the Rooks as a child. Well, she could handle that. Deciding to steel herself against any future encounters with the animal, Nyiji refocused on her work while Mason cried to his Captain like a child. While she didn't pay attention to the rest of his complaints, it was obvious that Trafalgar had no intentions of rescinding the punishment and that meant she could do whatever she wanted in the kitchen.

Setting the crumbs into the pan and creating a base, she moved on to start working on the cream cheese. It didn't take more than ten minutes for her to whip the mixture together with sugar, flour and sprinkles of vanilla, adding in a small dollop of sour cream only after the mix was well blended. Putting the sour cream back into the fridge, she grabbed a small carton of eggs. Four eggs were cracked in smooth motions into the bowl, shells shucked into a garbage can without hesitance. As the last egg was cracked Mason finally returned his attention onto her as his interest won out.

"What are you even doing? That looks like a dessert, we're supposed to be making—"

"Lunch and dinner," she interrupted him, not sparing him a look. "I know. This is a dessert but it will clear the palate of the spice after the stew."

"Spice?" he repeated. "My stew isn't that spicy!"

Silver irises finally turned to the chef, settling him with a look that sent him back a step. "No, you're right, it's not spicy. It's just burnt and hot. And over-spiced, and half of it is being tossed."

"Excuse me? I didn't burn it!"

Flippantly Nyiji asked him, "Did you even taste test it before serving?"

Insulted Mason marched over to the remnants of his stew, finally noticing that she had separated it into different pots. The broth remained, still warm to the touch with an orange tone to it. In another pot sat his vegetables, strained and rinsed of the broth and soaking in a new mixture of water. Spinning on her, he reached out and ripped the cream mixture from her hands and slammed it on the counter. A second after, he took the whisk from her hand and began to take up her work on the dessert. Everything in his body urged him to unleash his anger on her, kick her from his space and reprimand her for insulting his cooking but with his Captain present, he had to retain some semblance of control. ' _Just kicking her out won't solve anything anyway,_ ' he thought.

"Cheesecake, right?" he asked, voice calmer than before.

Amazed that he had managed to settle himself so easily, Nyiji nodded and passed the cake pan over for him to pour his finished mixture into. She had only ever seen this type of shift in him once before and that had been when she had been teaching him a new recipe. It appeared with enough curiosity even his poor mood could be temporarily avoided, though this made it difficult as she had no idea when that would change. Mason was similar to a roller coaster, you never knew when things were going to take a dive and spiral out of control. He hated people in his space but loved learning new things, hated negative feedback and did his best in front of his Captain; in a way, it was like working with a child.

"Got your shrimp!" Uni called as he reentered the galley, a bag slung over his shoulder.

Dropping the bag on the counter he let the sea creatures spill out, fat and juicy and still crawling.

"What the hell!" Mason cried out as he jumped a step away from a shrimp as it fell to the floor near his shoe. "What are you doing with shrimp!?"

Tipping his chin in Nyiji's direction, Uni answered: "she asked for 'em."

"Thank you," she spoke up as she grabbed the bag, snatching the racers up and throwing them back in. A pot had already been prepared and sat waiting to be placed on the stove. "Mason, can you move this pot over?"

Setting a standing oven to preheat Mason dodged a lone shrimp that had escaped her notice and helped move the requested pot before he collected the roaming crustacean and threw it into the sink beside her. "Do you even know how to debone those?" he snapped.

Making sure to bump his shoulder as she passed, she fired back: "Do you?"

"Of course!" he shouted. Repeating to himself a mantra to keep calm, Mason stomped around the space until he stood on the opposite side of the kitchen counter. The more distance between them, the easier it would be to tolerate her.

And then she grinned at him, smug and insufferable, knowing full well that her attitude was setting him off again. _'I could drown her in that pot of water!'_ he warred internally, expression morphing to match his thoughts, ' _Except than I'll never get the pot disinfected again! Oh god! I would have to throw out the stove too!'_

"So… what's cooking?" one of his crewmates broke the stalemate, stepping in the middle of their cross-hairs to return his empty bowl.

Snatching the bowl from the man's hand, Mason glared and refrained from speaking; he hadn't even thought to ask her what she was planning to make for dinner after the shrimp had arrived.

"Shrimp and sausage gumbo," Nyiji answered, voice not as strong as it had been when she was taunting the chef. It was clear that she still wasn't comfortable around many of the unfamiliar men in the room, not that any of them blamed her for it.

A look of understanding passed over the blonde's face, quickly hidden as he adjusted his glasses. It was inventive—turning the broth that she claimed to have been over-spiced and hot into a spicy gumbo that would utilize the previously made vegetables. It also explained why the veggies were stewing again, softening them into something more palatable.

Breaking their stare off, Nyiji turned back towards the stove and returned to her work. Having gotten caught up with Mason's temper she hadn't actually noticed that the entire galley's eyes were focused on them. Her skin felt like it was crawling as a result but there was nothing to be done about it. In a large and deep skillet butter and flour was dropped and stirred until it turned a dark caramel. Focusing on this was easy for her, a perfect distraction. Next step, strain the vegetables and add them into the buttered mixture. Having to add a few chopped peppers and celery to the mix, which added a few minutes onto the estimated cooking time, Nyiji took the chance to check on the cheesecake. Nearly done rising in the heated box, the sweet smell sat ready for her.

"Ten minutes more on the cheesecake," she spoke up after clearing her throat, hoping that Mason would return to helping her.

Back to her medley of vegetables that had softened after about five minutes, Nyiji finally added in mashed garlic cloves and sausage that had been cut into hearty slices. About to reach for a mixture of seasoning that she had set out earlier, she stalled when she found Mason already there. He offered her the bottle in silence and turned away once she had it, pretending his sole focus was on the oven.

"Thank you," she whispered, just loud enough that only he would hear.

True to his character, he acted as if she hadn't said a thing. "When you add the broth, don't forget to turn off the stove top. I won't have a rookie move like that getting someone burned in here—and put it in the sink right away!"

' _Killian would hate this man, more than I do,_ ' she thought, chuckling under her breath. ' _How can one person be so insufferable? Probably dropped on his head a few times…'_

A plate of diced tomatoes found their way to her mixture, added in a blink before the blonde spun away from her as if he hadn't helped. At least she could appreciate the small efforts to assist. Still she couldn't help but think it odd that he seemed so content with letting her take charge once everything had been said and done. Killian had always been very dominant in the kitchen, the one doing most of the actual work while she handled the prep when needed so she wasn't used to taking the lead.

A hearty scent of Cajun spices rose into the galley's air as the gumbo came to a boil, spilling out in thick plumes that was sure to stick in the rooms couches for a few days afterwards. Not a moment later, Nyiji was ready with the shrimp. Spilling the crustaceans out in the sink she let Mason step in to arrange them all symmetrically on the counter before they worked in tandem to peel and debone them. He had skill with this, she could tell, having never seen anyone peel a shrimp so fast. With each freed prong, he added it into the gumbo and maintained a steady stir without guidance.

Unable to help herself, Nyiji asked if he had made this recipe before. He hesitated to answer, flashing a blue gaze over to his Captain first before answering as sternly as possible: "None of your business."

Nodding and brushing his sour reply away Nyiji threw in some chopped green onions to the mixture before moving onto the last needed material of rice. "Two cups of water for every cup of rice," she reminded herself, counting out the men aboard the submarine in her mind.

When she had made the risotto, she hadn't needed to think about the quantity of rice as it had already been prepared, but this time she wasn't sure just how much the men would eat. With the gumbo needing to last for two separate meals, she knew that whatever number she eventually came to, she would still have to double it in the end. That was another skill that she lacked and something Killian had excelled in; if only he were with her now. If only she were still aboard her own ship, with her own family and not sailing away from them. Stilling her thoughts before they got away from her and headed towards darker territory, Nyiji shook her head. Now was not the time to become hysterical.

"I'll deal with the rice," Mason snapped, moving past her while being careful not to let their bodies touch again. His skin was still crawling from last time. "Keep stirring the gumbo."

Nyiji nodded and kept to her station. He was becoming more efficient the longer she watched him, albeit a little clumsy. She had to remind him about the cheesecake only once, and only in an effort to shoo him away from the rice before he burnt the bottom of the pot so she could sneak in and stir the rice free. As Mason pulled the cheesecake from the oven and reached out to grab a fork to stab in the middle, Nyiji whirled around and shouted for him to stop, startling the room.

"It will crack if you do it before it has cooled! The middle is always supposed to be a little jiggly!"

Fork hanging in the air, Mason blinked at her a few times before taking the advice and setting the utensil down. He hadn't known. That was another frustrating aspect for him. As much as he hated her very presence aboard the submarine, he was well aware that she had an array of knowledge in the culinary field. If only he could crack her head open on the counter and steal all of it. "Oh god!" he gagged as he realized the path his thoughts had taken. ' _That would leave brain matter all over—oh-ah!'_

"Are you OK?" she asked him, confused as to what had set him off again.

"Just ignore him," someone spoke up from somewhere in the room, voice deep and graveled. Nyiji tried to locate the face of who had spoken but was unable to decipher them amongst the crowd of unfamiliar men. No one in particular looked like they were hiding such a baritone voice.

Taking the phantom stranger's advice, Nyiji eventually finished preparing the meal, rice and all, and was ready to start spooning the gumbo into bowls just as more bodies began to pack into the room for lunch. Time had flown by much faster than she'd realized but handing off the last bowl towards the irate chef left her ready to climb into the bundle of ropes she called a bed.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Mason asked her when he noticed her trying to escape without a bowl of her own.

She shook her head and overacted how tired she was by faking a yawn. "I'm—ah—actually going to get some rest first."

Quickly, before she could be caught or Uni could catch her trail, Nyiji rushed from the galley and headed to her room for solace. She could hear the last few pirates on the floor filtering towards the galley, effectively leaving the rest of the submarine empty. Now was her chance, she could search and find an escape while they were distracted. Waiting until the last footsteps vanished from behind her door, Nyiji reached for the handle and pulled, and pulled.

"What?!" she cried when the door refused to budge. "Open the door!" she yelled after realizing it had been locked from the other side again.

A muffled voice shouted back at her, entirely too cheerful for her liking: "Have a good rest, Puppy-ya!"

Kicking the door, Nyiji screamed back, livid that the man had locked her in: "You said I could have free-roam!" but her voice went unheard, likely because the man had already left. With a few more kicks and tugs at the door handle to vent her frustration, she eventually gave up and slumped to the floor. Falling onto her back, her head narrowly missed the cold stew she had left behind and she grimaced, placing a hand over her stomach that called out for food.

"Fuck."

* * *

Catching her before she could escape from the hotel room Killian blockaded the door using his body, arms stretched out and locked on the walls as he stared in. The Amazonian woman was glaring at him as she worked on stuffing clothes into a carrying bag, rushing around the room in a hurry.

"Planning to become one with the scenery?" she snapped at him. Turning, she almost tripped over a lone pen on the ground. ' _When the hell had that gotten there?'_

He watched her kick the pen away, frustrated that it had upset her balance before charging to tear the dresser apart. His fingers drummed out a short note on the walls. "What did ya' tell 'im?"

"Excuse me?" Straightening up, Cyrus gave her friend a look that dared him to cross the threshold and step into her territory and ask her again.

"I am," he nodded. Killian knew he looked something fierce as he stared the taller woman down. There was a new friction between them that hadn't existed before, he could feel it grating on their nerves and edging them towards starting an uncontrollable fire. "Give me an 'onest answer, now, while you 'ave the chance. An' I won't tell the Cap'n."

The serious expression on her face exploded as Cyrus burst into a laugh that expelled from her belly. Turning away from him, she resumed her packing. " _Oh, Kill_. You almost had me for a moment."

Stashing the last item into her bag, she slung the satchel over her shoulder and settled onto one of the beds. Across from her the other mattress rested, perfectly pristine and unused. Her eyes narrowed a moment. Standing and pushing past the cook, Cyrus ignored the way he stalked after her as she exited the establishment, directly on her heel the entire way. It was a direct path to their ship with no stops or interruptions. When they returned, she was almost ecstatic until Killian stepped in front of the gang plank.

"Whose crew did he belong to?" he asked again.

"Hell if I know," she shrugged, tired of dealing with the questions and interrogations after enduring it an entire week. "We didn't talk much together, made lots of noises though, if you catch my drift."

She pushed past him, knocking into his shoulder and headed up the plank then. Turning after her, Killian shouted at her back: "For fuck sakes, Cyrus! They took Nyiji!"

Whirling around and standing at the top of the plank, she snapped back with a level voice: "I know damn well what they did and yet I still don't have the answers you're looking for. Maybe _you_ shouldn't have let her crawl out the Captain's window into the dead of night."

Leaving the comment to do its job, the Amazonian vanished into the recesses of the ship with a small sway to her step. It took him a few moments to recover before he eventually made his way up the steps. His throat felt tight, his chest squeezing painfully. One of the men greeted him bouncing cheerfully on the deck, pleased that they were finally boarding their ship once more. He couldn't hold himself back before the words came tumbling out.

"Fuck off," he cussed the mercenary out, turning a smoldering blue gaze on him.

Killian barely heard the man apologize to him as he strode away, searching for his Captain to discuss their next steps. Surely by now Alistair would have a plan to rescue their stolen crewmember. Charging straight up to the helm he found his Captain standing ready, watching as his men finished their prep work. ' _The sails looked beautiful, a far cry from Nyiji's poor patchwork attempt._ ' Feeling his gut twist at the thought, Killian tore his gaze away from the sails and refocused himself. He had to keep his priorities straight.

"Cap'n," he greeted. "It looks like everyone's onboard."

Alistair nodded and ran a hand over his beard. "Aye. We'll be departin' soon."

Glancing around Killian's brows furrowed when he realized their navigator was missing from the scene. "With what heading?" he asked, "Did Bishop figure out where they might have gone?"

Faced with his Captain's silence, Killian turned back to face the half-giant. He looked completely calm on the outside, just as always, but something felt _off_.

"Cap'n?" he repeated, brow furrowing.

"The Gran' line."

Killian felt as if his heart had stopped beating. Opening his mouth to try formulating a sentence he hadn't even yet thought of, his vocal chords failed him. Mouth closing, he could only watch as his Captain turned from the helm just as Bishop appeared to take over. Stalking away and vanishing into the cabin hold, Killian found himself unaware that he was chasing after his Captain until he was barging into Alistair's personal quarters.

Inside the ruined room, Alistair shuffled towards the small dining table where numerous posters lay. There were still utensils scattered over the tables surface, one of which he picked up and then roughly stabbed back down. ' _The man never stops grinning,'_ he thought with a grimace, staring at the poster's olive complexion and dark-ringed eyes.

"What about Nyiji!?" Killian shouted as he found his voice once more. Standing in the entrance way, he fisted his hands in an attempt to keep his composure.

Pulling the knife from the poster Alistair let his glare linger over the man's features a moment longer before stabbing the utensil back down to tear into the face, effectively ruining the paper. "We're leavin' 'er behin'."

' _When had this dark cloud appeared over their crew and taken over?_ ' Killian rubbed at his closed eyelids roughly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't accept tha'," he admitted to his Captain.

"Neither can I."

Avoiding each other's eye, it felt as if neither could stand to be in the others company any longer. A sickness was forming in Killian's gut, bubbling and boiling over as he watched his Captain attack the bounty poster on his table.

"Was it him?" he asked. Alistair grunted, neither confirming nor denying. "Is he involved with Jiyan?"

The knife in Alistair's hand suddenly spun out and arched through the air, cutting past Killian and nearly clipping his shoulder before becoming embedded in the wall. ' _He had to press on, for Nyiji's sake.'_

"Are they the ones chasing us?" Killian demanded, voice firm. Though his legs shook, fearful of his Captain's temper. "Is he the reason we're runnin'?"

"Boy!" Alistair snapped, standing up so fast his chair toppled over.

"DID HE TAKE HER!?"

"I DON' KNOW!"

Chests puffing, heaving, the two men glared at each other. To Alistair, it was as if he were looking at the child that he had taken in all those years ago and raised aside his best friend. That boy had been so bloodthirsty, so desperate for approval and damn, how he had seethed beneath the surface, just as he was now.

" _I don't care,"_ the child had told him, eyes darker than coal. " _no one's important to me anyway."_

Bending over and picking his chair back up, Alistair did his best to reel himself in before he lost all sense of control. When he was finally ready to talk, he took up his chair, this time avoiding looking at the poster. It would only enrage him all over again.

"This is 'ow we survive, boy. We keep a'ead," he could tell the words weren't enough, so he carried on, pushed himself. "I don' know 'ow 'e's involved. But tha' bear came from 'im."

Stepping towards the table, Killian reached timidly out for the poster, fingers touching the bottom of the paper before twisting it to garner a better look at the face of the man involved. "Trafalgar Law," he repeated the title. "Surgeon of death."

"The Gran' line," Alistair told him. "We'll be safe there. I need ya' wit' me on this, Killian."

It took everything he had to swallow back the pain to answer. The Grand Line was not a place for those that were faint of heart. "I'm with you, Captain."

Later, as the Rook's ship sailed out from Moorham's harbor and swam into the ocean's waves, Killian stood alone in his kitchen left to regret his decisions. The Grand Line was a place for those with a raw determination and will. It sank and claimed the lives of many that failed to meet its conditions, chewed up and spit out the careers of hundreds of pirates that had come before. Truly, it was a place that you did not carry your heart to. No, the Grand Line demanded nothing more than you to leave that behind. Grasping the edges of the sink, his head sank low as his body balanced forward. It was a good thing he was.

* * *

 _Author's note; welp, what started at a 10k word count turned into 11k after I was finally finished editing, but I'm rather pleased with how this chapter turned out. It's getting into some of my favorite parts, which come next chapter._

 _I want to thank everyone for their continued follows and favorites, holy cow I can't believe how many people are enjoying this so far! It means so much to me! And the reviews, gosh you guys are awesome-those make my day and always make me giddy!  
I really wanted to also address a review left by Sarge1130 because you caught what completely slipped my mind! and I appreciate it, I know I sent you a PM answering, but wanted to comment for everyone else too: So, you may notice the title of the story, Ishi Ishi no Mi also happens to coincide with the same name as Pica's DF-Yes, I forgot the name of his fruit as I got used to it being referred to as the "Stone-Stone fruit." I chose Ishi as in Japanese it means will or willpower, which is why I chose it. Now due to there being so many characters the Japanese use (hiragana, katakana and kanji) a word might have the same name but a different meaning depending on how it is written, in this case, I'm using that creative license. I will also address this in the story at a later date!_

 _Thanks for reading! - Roh._


	6. Chapter Six

As the currents began to pick up around the submarine a giant dark mass began to appear in the distance, trailing water in clashing waves as it moved. Shouts from the deck were heard over the whipping wind as the Heart pirates prepared for their arrival to the island. Men dashed all over the deck before heading back inside to secure anything not bolted down and ready their stations as ordered. Standing on the upper deck overlooking the sea, Trafalgar peered through a small spyglass that had been handed to him by his first-mate and navigator. Through the magnifying glass inside he could see a great wall splitting out from the waves, made entirely out of steel with not a single window to look upon new arrivals. They obviously didn't expect visitors. Satisfied they wouldn't be spied on as they pulled closer, Law slapped the spyglass back into its compact case and handed it off to Bepo who indicated he would be returning to the helm.

The skies above were grey as thick clouds moved to keep coverage over the giant mass below, barely letting in a drop of sunshine. The sea was dark except for the froth of waves that was spat out from Jiyan. A clear sign that the depths were near bottomless and likely filled with their own danger.

Turning on his heel, Trafalgar headed back inside through a small door that opened into the control room where Bepo sat steering the vessel and checking over the submarine's conditions with a burly yellow-hatted man beside him. They chatted quietly with one another and didn't give their Captain a second look as he made his way down the climber's tube to get to the floor below. Walking the halls of his sub until he arrived on the second floor where the crew's quarters were located, Law headed straight for the room once known as 'medical closet 3'. The door opened up to reveal an empty cot swinging between two storage cabinets and he frowned. Spinning to look down each end of the hallway his eyes searched for the hiding prisoner. He had expected resistance from her when they had finally arrived at Jiyan— _but hiding?_

She couldn't have found many crooks or spaces to conceal herself in that Law wouldn't know about, so with a sigh of frustration he set himself to exploring the submarine starting with the current floor. Checking every room that he came across, every little nook and cranny, his irritation built. Finishing his search in the galley, he scanned the room. Many of his men were missing from the large space, having jobs to complete for their arrival but here, he found her. Standing beside Uni with a forlorn expression as she peered out the small circular window, a hand pressed against the glass and features shadowed by the grey clouds outside.

His subordinate gave him a brief nod in greeting as he neared and then took a few steps away from the woman. Uni was typically silent unless directly spoken to, so when Law dismissed him with a nod of his chin, it was a little surprising when he spoke up to say: "Good luck, Captain."

Law gave him a slight tilt of the head in thanks and held the man's blank eyed stare before Uni turned and exited the room, likely heading off to prepare himself with the rest of the crew. Left alone with the woman Trafalgar stepped up to her side to peer through the window, getting a clear view of the island looming in the distance. It was growing in size as they neared and he noticed that the walls were beginning to look as if they were touching the clouds above.

"Are you prepared?" he asked her casually, though he knew better. Now that they had arrived at the island, he had ceased placating her; choosing a rougher approach now that he didn't need any further information from her.

Nyiji barely pulled her eyes away from the porthole, too washed up in awful memories and the feeling of fire licking at her skin to really look at the Captain. "There's still time to turn around," she pleaded with him.

Law turned his eyes back to the window and let a small frown slip. Briefly, he wondered if it would have been a good idea to drug her for their arrival to make her more compliant—having only dismissed the idea originally because he was sure that keeping her alert would be safer in the end. "Come along Puppy-ya."

She turned stiffly away from the window and finally stared at him with hardened eyes. She had the look of a cornered lion with hair sticking wildly out from the makeshift braid she had done earlier that morning. Behind her silver eyes he could even see the formulation of a plan to attack. Clearing his throat, Law curled a finger to beckon her to follow him outside.

"I have taken your concerns and warnings into account already. Let's go outside."

Nyiji let him get a few paces ahead of her, just to double check that the two were alone, before she moved to follow. They headed up to the first floor without passing a soul though voices could be heard faintly behind doors as people moved and worked. It set her on edge. Teeth grinding together she tried to keep herself in check as she waited for the perfect time to strike, the right moment to attack just as soon as an opening appeared. Though she hadn't practiced any self-defense in a considerable amount of time and her devil fruit abilities were still a secret to herself, she couldn't go down without at least trying. There was a chance, if she took him by surprise, that she could knock him unconscious. ' _And then…_ ' well, her options were limited to include drowning or murder by his crew, but they were still options that didn't involve going back to that place.

A whisper fell past her ears as they reached a small hatch hidden behind a thick metal door; unsealed it revealed a climber's tube that led up towards the control room, a space she had not yet ventured. Trafalgar waved her to enter first into the tight cylindrical space outfitted with a tall ladder that would be her only route should she become sealed in with him. She couldn't go up there, that much was clear to her. Nyiji swallowed down her fear as Law entered behind her and turned to reseal the hatch behind them. She could feel the heat coming off of him from their close proximity, their bodies nearly touching in the confined space. The whisper grew louder and a voice became familiar as it urged her to act _now_ , while the timing was right.

In one fluid motion she lashed out at his back with a fist, hoping to connect with the back of his neck, the most vulnerable point on him that she could find. Her limb moved through the air and connected solidly with his arm and her eyes widened as she realized he had not only anticipated her attack but parried her without turning to face her. Law swung around in one smooth movement, grabbing her arm while she was stunned and jerked her towards him, limiting her actions even further. With his right arm, no longer held up to block, he brought a fist into her stomach and watched her double over his knee from the force of his punch. Without waiting to recover the wind into her lungs, Nyiji let out a choked sob and connected her shin into his side only to be wrenched and thrown into the side of the small chute they stood in with a crash. Face pressed against the wall she felt his elbow find a spot in her back, pushing painfully into a bundle of nerves that effectively incapacitated her. She sunk down into his hold, unable to continue fighting back and he followed her down to the floor while keeping a tight hold on her body the entire way. With both of her arms bent behind her back and twisted at an odd angle, hair hanging down over her face, she felt him kneel over her. His kneecap shifted between her legs and then with a quick jerk, forced her legs apart so that she would lose the remnants of her balance. Unable to hold herself upright under all of his weight bearing down on her, she hit the ground.

She winced, pain flaring along her muscles when the whisper returned. " _You failed,_ " she heard it against the shell of her ear. Without a doubt in her mind she knew that it hadn't been the dark Captain that had spoken.

Her eyes stretched wide and darted around where she could see, trying to find the face that matched the voice. Owens stared back at her from a crouched position, just in the corner of her eye and nearly out of sight. He grinned at her and mockingly waved, his peachy skin glowing underneath the dimmed lights. Catching sight of the afternoon shadow growing along his square jaw, she blinked with confusion. He looked the same.

" _Come on kid, I taught you better than this,"_ he said to her, grinning madly.

Law glanced down at the female underneath him as she began to mutter quietly to herself, little whispers of _"but you're dead"_ not missing his ears. A little surprised to hear such a reaction, he hauled her up to startle her from whatever had caught her attention. As soon as she was back on her feet, he pressed her a little harder than necessary against the wall.

"Are you done trying to fight me?" he asked her, lips close to the shell of her ear.

She didn't respond for a moment, too distracted by something at her side that he couldn't see and Law tightened the grip on her arms until she let out a squeak of pain and responded: "Yes! Yes!"

Pushing her in the direction of the ladder, he released her arms and allowed her a moment to rub at her body, checking herself over to make sure no serious damage had been done. He was sure his strikes were going to leave bruises on her, which would be a good reminder for her to recall the incident—should she have anymore smart ideas. Nyiji cast another cautious glance to her side that once again, didn't go amiss to him. Law had seen the signs before of someone suffering from mental illness, though he wasn't quite sure yet if he could properly diagnose her without more time and information. Whether it was PTSD that was being affected by their arrival to the island, or something more serious and underlying like schizophrenia, it would have to be tabled for now. He had made it clear that she wouldn't be a danger to him, after all.

Nyiji climbed the ladder without any other incident and he followed after her, leading her through the control room where she momentarily paused in fright upon seeing Bepo. Escaping out onto the deck where the wind continued to whip wildly around, the two moved beside one another to the railings edge as the island pressed in. The yellow submarine had caught up to the moving mass in no time and now sailed alongside the island's steady pace with barely a foot between them. With such a tight gap between the sub and wall, she was nearly tempted to reach out and touch it. If only to confirm that it was just a mirage from her nightmares.

She turned to face Trafalgar as he stepped closer to her, reminding her of their impending doom. "Trafalgar, please! Don't do this!" she tried to beseech him once more. He did not answer her as he took another step into her personal space.

Ignoring her tears Law reached a hand out to slip around her waist, catching her by surprise as he pulled her into his body. She could feel the sharp stab of his sword's sheath as it pressed into her side and with alarm, she found herself digging her fingers into the black and yellow shirt beneath her rather than fight him away. She wasn't sure why he was drawing her close, maybe it was an effort to comfort her or apart of another plan. She swallowed and glanced to her right to look at the island's wall once more, catching sight of his hand lifting free into the air, tattoos gleaming in the dark sunlight.

" _Room."_

A small sphere appeared in the palm of his hand, spinning and rotating wildly like a razor dancing in the wind, before it began to grow into a giant dome that encased their bodies. Nyiji watched the blue sphere extend until all she could see was a filter over everything, its mass seeming to reach through the giant wall beside them. ' _He is a devil fruit user!?'_

" _Shambles."_

In a split second and with a whoosh of air speeding past her ears, she blinked and suddenly they were no longer atop the submarine's top deck but back inside her personal hell. All around them were dead and burnt trees, white bodies withered and colored charcoal. Though the fires had been put out long ago, she could still smell the smoke, fresh and heavy on the air. The ground beneath their feet was a sickly color, bleached from the sun and stiff underneath their shoes. When Law dropped Nyiji from his hold, letting her fall unceremoniously to the ground, she had to hold her hands out to cushion her fall and felt a dark heat radiating up from the earth to greet her. It was as if the soil had been collecting hundreds of years worth of sunlight and was now capable of blasting out its own force.

Fear gripped her as she got up to her feet and looked around at the familiar sights. They had ended up on the west side of the island, judging by the mountain's location in the distance just visible over the tops of the dead trees. The mountain, much like the rest of the earth was pale and colored an awful red from the clay packed inside its mounds. Circling the great climbing stretch of land were vast rings, circling the mountain's base. Shakily, Nyiji pulled her father's spyglass from her hip and used it to peer at the buildings that lined each level. They all looked abandoned, for which she felt grateful.

Law glanced away from the scenery when he heard Nyiji let out a little cry, jumping away from something as if her ankles had been grabbed. He said nothing as she fell backwards, sending up a cloud of dust, silver eyes focused on something he couldn't see.

Telling herself that the images closing in on her were false, Nyiji struggled to keep herself composed as she stared at the young man clinging to her ankle. She could feel his fingers, his steel grip and his urgency as if he were of flesh and blood. Tomo looked back at her, strawberry hair askew and freckled face mirroring the panic she kept bottled inside.

" _Just help me up!"_ he pleaded with her, free hand clinging to his broken leg that was bared for all to see.

Bone stuck out through the skin while his flesh turned purple around the wound. He let out a rattling breath as he gripped her ankle tighter, blue eyes shaking as he tried to stay focused on her. ' _He was dead, they were all dead,_ ' she had to remind herself as she tried to shake off his hold once more.

"Take me to wherever your Captain spent his time," Law spoke up, tired of waiting for the rattled girl to come to her senses.

Startled by his voice Nyiji looked up with her doe eyes. Staring as if she couldn't fully process his request yet. "Take me to wherever your Captain went. If he spoke to anyone, we're going there. He fucking wiped his ass, I want to see where," he repeated, drumming his fingers on the scabbard of his nodachi.

Swallowing hard against her dry throat, Nyiji cast a glance at her foot to confirm that Tomo had vanished before getting back to her feet to blankly lead Law along a familiar path.

"We all stayed at the mansion just up the mountain. I never saw the Captain leave there," she answered, clearing her throat a few times as if it would cover up her very public freak-out.

Law nodded as he followed her lead, amber eyes constantly scanning and evaluating not only her but their surroundings. It felt too desolate and empty for such a small innocuous island, tucked away behind the security of those imposing walls. He had come with the expectations that there wouldn't be many occupants residing here in the first place, but he'd still expected more life than a dead forest and a rocky path that mostly consisted of white dirt. An occasional chirp of a cricket kept them company as they walked through the barren forest. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up at the eerie quiet.

"Will you… say something?" Nyiji suddenly spoke up as she looked at him over her shoulder. She was fidgeting with the clothes on her body as she avoided looking at various locations around them, bare skin already covered in dirt from her earlier fall.

"Say what?" his voice came out gravelled. His amber eyes glanced over at her from his peripherals, catching her fiddling with the spyglass at her hip nervously.

Her face turned up to stare at the cloud coverage, finding that ghosts couldn't chase her this way. "You never told me what you hope to find here…"

Law cleared his throat and Nyiji came to a stop to look at him as he answered: "Everything your Captain is involved in and every secret this island holds."

She turned away from him with a small pout and processed his words. Now that they were on the island, everything she had done aboard the submarine to keep her Captain's secrets seemed so useless and insignificant. But if it was Trafalgar's intention to find out everything about her Captain and Jiyan, then maybe she could at least use it to her advantage and escape. Not only the island, but him as well. Preferably alive—living was certainly the optimal outcome. Even if she was surrounded by Jiyan on all sides, crowded and encased in another prison, she would find a way out of this mess.

"We did jobs for a company, but… we were never told who ran it." Flicking his eyes to her in surprise at the revelation, he had to physically bite down on his tongue to keep from speaking before she was finished. "All we knew was its name: _Laughing Co_. Each month we would be given directions to pick up product and instructions of where to deliver it—but we… had no idea _what_ we were delivering. I don't think even Captain knew…"

' _Laughing Co_ ….' Law grit his teeth together and resumed a walking pace so she wouldn't notice the clench of his jaw. She hurried after him, trying to keep his pace with her shorter legs.

"That's what you wanted wasn't it? But I don't understand why," she called to his back.

Continuing to ignore her, he carried onward, fingers still tapping against his sword's sheath and dead branches crunching underneath his footsteps. Scenery passed and changed from the dead trees into a more open landscape where stalks of grass had been burnt and ripped from the earth, creating various potholes. A rushing current of water could be heard ahead, growing louder the closer they neared the main source of the island's transportation, a giant water wheel. It stuck out of the side of a little wooden shack, turning rather quickly and churning up a thick white froth. Law hadn't expected them to come across the wheel so soon but found himself impressed that Nyiji's earlier drawings had depicted the machine so accurately. Nyiji led them further down the rivers side where the water appeared to split the island in half, separating the burnt ruins of their half from a lush landscape on the other side.

Soon they reached the mountain's base where a road made of bricks lodged into the earth greeted them, winding a path up towards an area where trees still grew untouched from whatever chaos Nyiji had experienced upon her last visit. Brightly colored leaves shadowed the path and gave them coverage from a wrought-iron gate straight ahead. Behind the tall fence Law could make out the mansion; built from solid wood, painted a cool grey with six windows across the front in an even line, and shielded by thick curtains. Three floors up, he counted, a small balcony was grappled underneath a grander window decorated with small blue chairs and a glass table in a simple patio set.

Law turned his eyes onto Nyiji as she came to his side, crouching low behind a decorative bush to keep out from the windows line of sight. "You aren't planning on… doing that _, thing_ ," she made a spinning motion with her finger to indicate his devil fruit abilities, "to teleport us inside, are you?"

"No," he answered her, eyebrow raised. "we'll be getting inside the old-fashioned way."

She followed him as he rolled a shoulder at her, the only indication that he expected her to follow him. Circling the wide gate, Law tested each decorative piece for give before they found their way to the back of the mansion where movement in the window caught his eye. "Get behind that pillar," he directed Nyiji as he himself ducked to one opposite her.

Steeling herself against the stacked stonework, Nyiji squeezed her eyes shut and tried to picture herself somewhere else. When she opened her eyelids again, she saw Trafalgar peering around the side of his pillar, eyeballing the house as if it had come to life. Her stomach dropped at the thought he had seen someone, that they weren't alone on the island. Of course, she knew they couldn't be _entirely_ alone—why would anyone abandon a perfectly usable space of death, after all?

"What do you see?" she whispered, hoping his answer would help her calm down.

Law's eyes barely moved in her direction before they were set back onto the mansion. The curtains were still again, pinched straight as if they had never been disturbed but he knew someone had noticed their presence. Getting inside would be a little more difficult than he originally thought.

"Someone's inside, we were likely noticed. I'm going to push you over the fence first, come here."

When she failed to follow his orders, Law looked over to find her already climbing the fence and throwing herself over the top with little exertion, without so much as a single complaint. His dark eyebrows rose as he watched her turn back and face him from the other side of the fence, hands cupping her waistline. How she had managed to regain her composure, Law wasn't sure, but he did his best to push a rising insecurity to the side as he joined her on the other side of the fence. As the two snuck towards the mansions side, he took his time to examine her lithe frame, trying to deduce how she had managed to keep her agility hidden from him until now. When she glanced back at him, Law turned his face away, caught in the act with a small scowl.

Obliviously, Nyiji began speaking: "If we break a window, someone will hear us. And none of these look like they've been left unlocked, any other ideas?"

Law nodded towards the back door of the mansion, housed underneath a giant white awning with a stretch of cemented patio below. "We'll go through that door there."

Frowning, she trailed behind him and watched as he bent to one knee, pulled a small kit from his back pocket and began to pick the lock. The door swung open to reveal a well-lit hall that stretched into an extravagant kitchen. Stainless steel kitchenware was surrounded by tall counters and wide pale white cabinets set against lilac backdrops. Stepping back into the grand room brought back a rush of memories for her. Here was where she and Killian had passed the time while their Captain was occupied with work. It was startling to find herself back after such a short amount of time, as if she hadn't escaped in the first place but was instead reliving moments where she had in fact died rather than lived.

The two moved forward, towards the connecting hallway where their pace slowed as Law checked out each room while Nyiji kept a nervous watch behind him. Each door revealed nothing more than empty rooms, cleared out of furniture that left behind a blank outline on the floor. Even the lamps had been picked clean, leaving the wallpapered rooms dark.

It wasn't until about the fourth room that footsteps could be heard moving towards them, forcing them to duck into the space to hide. Gently shutting the door with one hand pressed against the side of the wood to muffle the sound as it slipped into the doorjamb, Law kept his other wrapped around the doorknob to keep it from rotating back into place and giving them away. Nyiji watched him as he pressed an ear against the door, listening quietly as footsteps neared their hiding place before slowly moving past.

After enough time had past to make them certain it was safe to re-enter the hallway, they continued on at a slower pace that forced Nyiji to take the lead. Whoever had passed through had turned off what few light bulbs remained in the hall. It made visibility terrible in the hallway and the foyer.

Pausing at the entryway, Nyiji stared at the back of the foyer where a grand staircase was located. Though the area was cloaked in shadow she could see the ghosts of her crewmates walking up those steps, each mesmerized by the rich surrounding details. They had been so blind by the luxuries the mansion provided, oblivious to the dangers that took their lives. She could hear them speaking, voices low but the chatter of words still sunk into her head and rattled around her brain like a broken wheel.

" _Do you think we'll be here for long?"_ they whispered.

Preparing herself Nyiji timidly moved up the steps and swayed in and out of the ghostly apparitions, taking care not to let her skin touch the mirages while doing her best to keep her own actions discreet. She was sure Trafalgar hadn't noticed the strange way she was climbing the steps, and if he had, he certainly wasn't making a comment about it. Glancing back at him as subtly as possible, she noticed his grip on his sword had tightened, nerves heightened as he kept looking in every unfamiliar direction.

"We all stayed up here," she told him, voice low and hushed.

Law unconsciously flinched when she spoke, not expecting her to speak, and looked to where she directed. There were more hallways up above that split into two different directions, housing more rooms that were in the same state as those previously explored. Crystal chandeliers hung above their heads, pristine and untouched. Coming to a stop in front of another bare room, Nyiji gestured inside and confirmed that it had been where her Captain Alistair had stayed.

Stepping into the space, he examined every naked surface of the room and frowned. Even the bed had been taken out. "Why are all of these rooms stripped clean?" he mused quietly to himself.

It almost seemed like someone was trying to eliminate every trace of those that had once been here.

"Because we escaped…" Nyiji answered quietly, "at least, that's what I assume."

Amber eyes flickered over to the nervous figure still standing in the doorway, too scared to step past the threshold. "Then why is there still someone inside this mansion?"

He proposed a good question, just why _was_ there someone prowling the halls inside when there was nothing of note to be seen. It was as if the building was being made to intentionally look abandoned.

A creak of the floorboards sounded behind her and Nyiji spun around, silver orbs wide, just in time to meet a heavy club. It struck her hard in the face and knocked clean the last bit of consciousness from her head, leaving her a crumpled mess on the floor. Trafalgar reacted before her body had even hit the ground, withdrawing his nodachi from his shoulder and shedding its sheath. The blade flickered and glinted in the faint light that poured in from a nearby window, reflecting danger as it connected solidly with the hard plank of wood. That was when he came face to face with his opponent, a grinning man capable of holding his own against a blade with nothing more than a chipped bat.

"Welcome to our humble abode, may I show you to your rooms?"

* * *

The room was pitch black when she finally awoke, so dark that she almost thought she was still asleep before a sharp throb of pain brought her to her senses. Gingerly touching her temple seemed to increase the pain so she pulled the pads of her fingers away, feeling a sticky liquid on the tips. It made her grimace. Though she couldn't make out anything around her, she could smell the room soaked in a heavy odor of mildew and rotted wood. Braving to reach out, Nyiji explored her space and discovered that she had been contained within a small square cage of metal. The bars were thicker than the width of her hands with little spaces between, just enough room for her arm to stick out but nothing more. When she tried to rock the cage, she could hear and feel the reverberations of weak wood underneath her. Was she on top of a table?

Settling herself onto her knees, Nyiji reached through every slot of space she could find in the cage to feel around for anything, _anything_ , that could be useful to her. If she were seated atop a table then there had to be something, like a tool or a wrench for example that she could utilize. After spinning around in an entire circle and patting the area within her reach down, she gave up. There was nothing.

That was when she heard it, a soft movement of cloth followed by a clinking of metal scraping against metal. Pressing against the side of her cage, she did her best to try and make out the direction the noise was coming from, lips sealed shut in case whoever was in the room with her was not friendly. She couldn't recall exactly how she had gotten into this situation, her last memory covered in a haze, but she was smart enough to know that however it had happened, it was unlikely that she'd been placed into a cage for her own safety.

The noise ceased and a period of time elapsed before the silence grew uncomfortable and Nyiji tapped out a soft tune on the bars hoping that if there was someone else in the dark with her, they would be able to respond. A beat of nothing before she heard the movement again, this time followed by a heavy scratch of metal that repeated the same notes back to her in reply.

" _Sounds like you're being played with,"_ she heard Owens whisper beside her.

Spinning in the small space that kept her from sitting up properly, Nyiji searched frantically for the familiar face of the blonde doctor. "Owens?" she hissed into the dark. "Where are you?"

The metal thumped in the corner again, drawing her attention back to a more centered location in front of her. "Trafalgar?" she called out, her mind flashing with the man's dark face.

A thump of confirmation and her gut sank along with her heart. She knew that this would happen and should have known better than to expect anything different. If Alistair couldn't have kept them safe on Jiyan, what could he have done any differently? Trafalgar was strong but not strong enough to get them out alive. It was obvious now that she should have fought harder against him back aboard his submarine. He had subdued her so easily and she had caved into his brute force all because her will wasn't strong enough. Squeezing her nails into her palms, she let her chin drop to her chest as the tears threatened to burst from her eyes. She took a shaky breath then to center herself.

" _Oi oi, Pup. I taught you better than this, where's that fire? Are you just giving up?"_

"Yes," she answered the mirage, her voice coming out hoarse and strangled.

She could feel Owens presence as he crouched in front of her cage, invisible but distinctly there, distinctly real to her. His breath fanned across her face, hot and humid and smelling of smoke. " _What about that rube over there? Doesn't sound like he's giving up. Ar' you goin' to let him walk out of here without you? Are you ready to die here, Pup? For him?"_

Letting her head sink into her hands, Nyiji exhaled a deep sigh. ' _What am I doing?_ ' she questioned herself.

Sounds of rattling metal followed by a few heavy thumps drew her eyes back towards the spot she assumed Trafalgar was located. He seemed to be trying to get her attention. Owens stared in at her through the bars, his pale blue eyes focused on what she couldn't see. Trafalgar's taps were becoming faster, more urgent the longer she went without replying to him.

' _Did he still believe there was a way out of this? Out of these cages?_ '

She couldn't think of any solution to escape their prison. There was nothing to help her pick the lock and she doubted Trafalgar had the means to access his tools. It was likely that he had been restrained in chains then thrown into a cage of his own, if his lack of communication was any indication.

" _Are you listening to me, Pup?"_ Nyiji ignored the voice as it breezed past her ear, entirely focused on her own thoughts.

' _What about Trafalgar's devil fruit abilities? Why wasn't he using those strange abilities to escape? Was it whatever he was enchained in, perhaps sea stone, that was keeping him from using them?'_

" _Pup!"_

Her silver irises jolted up to Owens face just as she felt a blistering heat around her wrists where he gripped her flesh and burnt her. She jerked away from him, forcing the mirage to let go of her and curled into the back of her cage, rubbing her wrists that glowed a sickening red in the darkness. That was when she realized that she was not bound by any rope or metal, no cufflinks or wrappings of any kind and definitely no sea stone. She looked back in front of her cage but found only darkness looking back. Owens had given her the key to escape, the fire that she needed to survive Jiyan once more.

"I can do this," she told herself.

The pit in her stomach that had been sitting there for over a week returned, rolling around and responding to her budding nerves. Her wrists still burned and felt like leather as she moved onto her hands and knees to the front of her small cage, pressing against the bars. She still hadn't been able to access her fruit's abilities and wasn't very certain about where to start. So instead of trying to force it, as she had been doing, she let the feelings in her stomach build on their own and wrapped her fingers around the length of metal and pushed with all of her strength. At first nothing happened, there was no give in the metal or any flood of information about what she was newly capable of and she nearly gave up again. And then a burst of light flooded the room from her knuckles, radiating from her flesh in a soft glow. It was so startling that she released her hold to stare at her hands for a moment, only noticing a pair of ochre orbs staring at her after the shock began to subside.

She had done it.

Across the room and laid on his side, Trafalgar stared at her with a stretch of tape across his mouth and a series of thick blue chains wrapped around his body like a cocoon. They held eye contact for a moment before the light around her knuckles faded out and let the darkness return.

" _Hurry now Pup, hurry,_ " she heard Owens speak to her once more, urging her to not get distracted.

Listening to her deceased crewmember, Nyiji pressed her hands around the bars again and returned to pushing. Mentally urging the light to return and help her however it could. When the flickers reappeared, cloaking her hands in a white glow, she finally felt the bars give. Bending and warping under her hold. She couldn't give up and die here, _she wouldn't,_ she refused. The wrapping of light began to grow up her arms and the container she had found herself in burst open, shooting the front of the cage off of its hinge and across the room. The metal danced along the floor before coming to a stop underneath a table setup with numerous cages.

Freed, Nyiji stumbled from her prison and onto the floor, legs numb from the uncounted hours she'd been imprisoned. The light from her arms branched off in the room, lighting up corners of a workshop covered in mud and gore. The cages that surrounded them were all empty except for Trafalgar's, where he still lay watching her with a burning expression. She hesitated looking towards him for this reason, afraid to see another dark threatening look that promised murder.

Getting to her feet, she moved towards his cage and grasped the bars on his cell, looking in on him as the light shined on his shadowy features. For a moment she wanted to reach into his cage and help free him, to help them escape together, but that moment fled when a portion of the ceiling collapsed to their right and showered hot embers onto the floor. Boards had split apart in the ceiling and hung in an open wound that was festering with flames that licked at the wood. Fire and smoke were spreading into the basement in thick clouds, providing extra light along with a dangerous element.

' _The building is on fire!'_ she realized with horror.

Bringing a hand up to cover her mouth before she could inhale the smoke, her attention immediately moved onto finding an exit. Thoughts consumed and enraptured with a new fear, she searched for a door or a window, eventually finding one a few feet past a table setup with scalpels and IV equipment. She could hear the banging of metal behind her, Trafalgar's only method of communication from within his cage, as she headed away from him and stopped at the door. Looking back, she saw him trained on her with a murderous expression, one that was unforgiving and promised retribution if she should dare leave him behind.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to find a way to speak to him but nothing came out. They were pirates and she owed him nothing. He had kidnapped her, forced her to work for him and not only had he forced her to help him get to an island of her nightmares against all of her wishes and warnings, he had made her go with him. It was his own fault he was going to die in this burning building. She would just have to get over the fact that she was leaving another person to become a ghost, likely haunting her for all eternity for her mistakes.

He tried to move as she turned her back on him, more desperate banging metal chasing her as she slipped out of his sight through the door that opened onto a small set of stairs. Upwards she climbed, eyes set forward as the light on her arms guided her through the fire and smoke that thickened like a well-seasoned stew around her. It was difficult making her way through the burning mansion, everything looked unfamiliar and upside down. Old frames of photographs had fallen off the walls, scattering shards of glass across the floor. Each piece crunched underneath the soles of her shoes. There were piles of rubble still burning that blocked nearly every route she thought she knew. Twisting back and forth, Nyiji had to backtrack more times than she could count before she finally came to a pause at an open room that was finally familiar and still furnished but most of all— _occupied._

Throwing her body quickly into the side of the wall, Nyiji winced when the force of her slamming down aggravated not only her bruises but a section of the upper floor that fell to the ground near her in a crumpled burning heap. She could only hope, eyes squeezing shut, that she hadn't caught the man's attention. Shaking out her arms, she willed the light covering them to fade and hoped that it would help her blend in before he left the dining hall to check on the disturbance. Waiting to the count of thirty to calm herself, she realized that no one was coming. Peeking around the doorframe, she looked in at the dining hall.

Working obliviously to the crumpling mansion around him was a servant familiar to Nyiji, though his name escaped her. Surrounded by pine wood tables, cabinets and fine china, he worked quickly at stuffing papers, envelopes and folders into a large suitcase. His body twisted back and forth as he grabbed the pieces from an open cabinet, the muscles in his arms flexing with a nervous energy. Even with a short distance between them she could see dark rings surrounding the man's baby blues. His facial tattoos twitched as his jaw clenched and teeth ground against one another, irritated for reasons only he carried.

Having been left behind to collect the last needed materials, he hadn't expected to find Puppy—much less a stranger, alongside her. It was an unforeseen complication that he'd hoped the burning building would rectify after he had left. He hated these types of jobs, but he was intelligent enough and aware of who he worked for, to know not to gripe. Pausing in his work as a flicker of light from the dining rooms front entrance caught his eye, he straightened up and set what was in his hands down on the table. A vein appeared at his temple.

"My apologies. I didn't realize we had any guests scheduled for this afternoon," he called out, voice posh and composed.

Nyiji straightened against the wall she hid behind and gathered her courage to step out and face the man. He was the picture of a loyal servant and appeared completely unphased by her presence, smoothing back his snow colored hair with one hand.

"Ah, Miss Puppy. I must admit to being surprised to see you outside of your room."

In one step he moved to block the door behind him that led to an escape route. His arms were set at his sides, relaxed as a wicked grin swept over his full lips. Owens whispered in her ear to be careful, hands clasping her shaking shoulders to help steady her as she faced the butler.

"Tell me, how did you escape your cage? The last time we met, you were but a weak little mutt," he took a few steps towards her and an angry energy overtook him. "Perhaps it is something I should take up with your Captain. Do tell me, Puppy, _where is he?"_

The butler began a short walk towards her that turned into a sprint, drawing back his arm as he shouted at her: "Tell me!"

Reacting to the quick punch Nyiji drew an arm up to block him from striking her face, wincing as a brilliant orange glow appeared from nothing to shield her. His fist connected with the solid light and his pupils shook as shock overtook him, slackening his jaw as he realized the secret the woman was hiding. It was during his moment of shock that a flood of information came to her, the devil fruit taking over her conscience with its own minuscule biography. ' _Ishi Ishi No Mi,'_ it told her, resonating throughout her body. ' _if you will it, it will be._ '

The shield of light faded as she dropped her arm to her side, the devil fruit finally responding to her whims. A fire was lit within her and the fruit responded without any hesitation. Another thick wrapping of light appeared to cloak her knuckles, just as it had to help her escape the cage. She knew she wasn't physically strong enough to win a match on her own merits, but with these abilities she had been strong enough to force open her cage's door and that had to count for something. She glanced up at the man and swung a fist into his stomach, sending him back a few paces as he violently coughed the air from his lungs. He stayed doubled over, arms swaying in front of him like a pendulum as the vein in his temple violently throbbed.

" _That man_ ," he hissed to her, "is a fool."

"Alistair is no fool!" Nyiji screamed back, her pupils dilated with adrenaline. Her hair fell around her body and moved with her, sticking to her sweaty skin in places. "and I will _never_ betray him!"

The snowy haired butler let out a bark of a laugh, his lips pulling back to reveal a set of straight pearly teeth. Head tilted slightly his tattooed cheek twitched as he stared at her, his body still bent over at the waist. "What a loyal mutt you are. You don't even have a mind of your own, do you? You don't even question your place? Well, let me set you straight."

He took a few steps forward to meet her and the two stood inches apart, each at full height staring the other down, tensed and ready to fight. " _Alistair_ sold you, mutt and you belong to us! To do with as we wish."

"He would never do that."

"He did," he pushed into her personal space, hand reaching out to clasp her around her throat before she could move to stop him. "and you are nothing more than a loose experiment that I intend to clean up."

His hand squeezed around her wind pipe and Nyiji struggled to free herself, clawing at his skin with her short nails. As she dug frantically at him, little red scratches appeared that prickled with fresh blood. Enraged he drew her back and slammed her into the floor like a rag doll, her weight nonexistent against his strength. Nyiji let out a muffled cry that was silenced by a boot that stomped down on her face, drawing back a moment later to kick her across the room. She rolled backwards and moved when she felt fresh embers press against her skin.

"You are nothing but an animal, and you should have stayed within your cage."

"I won't die here," she bit out and forced herself to stand.

The butler was on top of her quickly and they exchanged a few blows, light flickering between them and dancing across the plates that lined the stretch of table behind them. A chandelier swung dangerously above them when Nyiji was tossed into the wall, a kick cementing her against it. Clasping the foot against her abdomen, she squeezed with all of the strength her fruit allowed her and twisted. He howled with pain as his foot was forcibly bent to the side at an odd ugly angle, his ankle bones protruding beneath the skin.

"You bitch!" he cried and quickly grabbed a handful of her inky black hair. She let out a yelp as she was dragged back to the floor and pounded with a flurry of punches that landed not only to her torso but her face as well.

The bruises she knew Trafalgar had inflicted on her earlier worsened in pain with every hit and her muscles spasmed. Crossing her arms over her face to defend herself, a small shield of light appeared in a flickering circle that shook her body with every hit it took. Though his strikes were not hitting her any longer it felt instead as if he were striking her very insides, diminishing her strength with every strike. The butler was unrelenting with his legs straddling her waist while the full force of his body pressed down on her, keeping her in place.

She couldn't even count the number of times he had struck her shield before the light broke apart, and his fist finally came through. One after another, the hits kept coming and he watched them with a wild fury as her skin split apart and blood began to ooze, her flesh darkening to a deep purple.

The onslaught continued even as her arms dropped to the ground, her fruit's abilities growing dark as the light refused to return and protect her. She felt useless and beaten. Arms splayed out, she felt her fingers twitch as the man struck a particularly sensitive spot on her torso. Her vision was growing dark and blurry, but she could still make out the butler's face twisting in a blind rage that was haloed by darkness. She nearly let herself slip away until her left hand struck something hot that seared against her flesh. Hot embers glowed beside her, within reach. In one fluid moment, without thought, Nyiji scooped up a handful of the hot coals and slammed them into the side of the butler's face. Pressing them into his cheek until he was rolling off of her body and away from her. He screeched in pain and clawed at the black coals that were stuck to his face, glued into his skin between bubbling blisters.

His blue irises narrowed on the retreating figure that was clambering away, practically crawling across the floor to get to the closed exit. "I'll kill you," he seethed, getting to his feet. "I'm going to tear you _apart_!"

Nyiji glanced behind her, chest heaving and a steady stream of blood running down her temple to blind her left eye. Her bottom lip was split open and swollen and her jaw felt stiffer than solid cement. Every part of her being ached and urged her to continue moving and put some distance between herself and the man that was easily overpowering her. Even though she understood now how to fuel the light to protect her, it was taking more energy than she had and every time it flickered away, it became harder to will it back. Her energy reserves were nearly empty and no matter how much she begged the fruit to help her, to become more than a pair of gloves or a tiny shield, it wouldn't matter in the end. She had to do something else if she had any hope of escaping alive.

As the butler came upon her, Nyiji tried to get herself moving again. Stumbling away and tripping onto the floor a foot followed her and pinned her down, pressing into her spine with its heel. The door was so close to her now, just barely within reach and here she was being skewered.

" _Get up, Pup! Get up!"_ she could hear Owens shouting at her from afar, appearing with the heavy smoke that was filling the room. " _Don't you die here!_ "

With the last reserves of her energy, Nyiji forced all of her willpower into supporting her arms and found that a blinding light answered her to help her with resisting the weight of the man atop her. Slowly, she pushed against his foot and even as the rest of her body struggled, her arms remained sturdy, solid and _bright_.

"I won't die here!" she screamed.

A push up and the butler was thrown off of his balance, forced to step back onto his injured foot that nearly toppled him as Nyiji got back to her own feet. When she turned to face him, her silver eyes were burning with newfound strength. Though her body looked broken, her spirit was resilient and ready to continue fighting, to continue surviving. If she had any hopes of escaping Jiyan again her only hope was to kill this man, right here and right now. These thoughts of hers were clear to both of them, shining from her features and the butler decided it was quite a sight to behold. The two faced off with one another, chests heaving and endorphins pumping.

"Oh, Miss Puppy, I can't wait to take you apart, see how you tick."

The two collided once more, hands pressed against hands, each leveraging their weight behind them as they tried to push the other back. Though the butler was taller than her, Nyiji held her ground with her feet firmly planted. Only sliding back by inches until her back hit the table. Her arms remained tight, locked straight even as she was forced to bend like a frail toothpick as he bared down on her. Pinned against the table he smiled wildly at her. The coals were still stuck within his flesh and permanently damaging his once handsome features, creating the most terrifying sight she had ever witnessed. Howling he pressed down harder and watched as she lost her footing and fell, bumping into the open suitcase he had left on the tabletop. A few documents fluttered to the ground, some landing near a section of wall that had begun to burn from a fire that had eaten its way through from the other side. Wood crackled and sizzled around them and the chandelier above them drooped as its wiring began to fray away inside the hot walls.

"What shall I break first?" he asked her, flickering his eyes to her hands. "why don't we start here?"

Slamming an elbow down to break their hand's contact, he hit her in the stomach as a distraction and grabbed a hold of a plate that he then smashed and broke against the table, returning to cut her arms with the slapdash weapon. He moved like a madman as he blindly slashed at her, once more putting her on the defensive. He only stopped when she kicked out at him and sent him against the wall. Bleeding, Nyiji looked over her crossed arms to see that he was coming back at her, and that was when the ceiling crumbled and caved in, a pile of beams and cinders coming down on him. It was so quick but suddenly the battle was over. The man was trapped in the burning pile of rubble and they both knew it. His facial expression shifted into one of terror and he began to plead with her to help him. She had heard these cries before, from men much more honorable and familiar than him, from men worthy of being saved.

"Stop! I'll pay you! Help me!" he begged as she got up from the table, her body swaying and bleeding as she looked at him coldly.

While staring at him, Nyiji stumbled and caught herself on the table. She swayed dangerously even with its support, her limbs shaking and vision rolling sideways. Even with a few shuddering breaths, she couldn't properly focus on the trapped man's face. Quickly wiping some of the blood from her face to clear her vision she noticed a sudden change. The butler, whose hair had been white as snow was twisting and deforming before her eyes, hair brightening to a shade of yellow. No longer was she looking at her attacker, but the face of her crewmate; crushed beneath heavy pillars and plaster as he continued crying for her help. ' _Owens._ ' He looked exactly as he had when she'd watched him die, pinned to death for the second time and reexperiencing his inevitable fate. Before she could make a move towards him however, the vision changed and she was once more staring at the butler. She scowled. He couldn't crawl out from beneath the debris that pinched and cut into his bones, encasing him in a fiery tomb. Not on his own at least and definitely not without her help.

" _No,"_ she answered him and turned away.

The table stood before her housing a few broken beams and stacks of papers that had been stuffed into an open suitcase, along with a ring of keys she hadn't noticed before. Each skeleton key looked unique and aged with brassy tones having turned a few of them an ugly blue and gold. Likely these were the keys to the cage she had been locked in before.

' _Our Captain wouldn't let anything happen to us, and nothing will happen to you while you are with us. I promise, it will be OK,'_ Penguin's words came to her as she thought about the man still locked away in the basement, the one she had left for dead. Their submarine _was_ her only option of escape…

Picking up the keys, she squeezed them in her palm and stared at the suitcase for a moment, mulling over her decision as the room burned around her. The butler still wailed and screamed like a child behind her. He had finally quit begging and was now threatening her, a futile effort. She knew he would kill her if she helped him… _but would Trafalgar?_ It was unlikely his crew would accept her return without their Captain… there were so many risks, but she only really had one choice.

The suitcase slammed closed, its locks latched with a flick of the thumb, a finality as she changed course and returned back the way she had come. The keys jingled in her hands as she did her best to move quickly while dodging as much of the flames as she could. An elbow tucked around her mouth to keep the smoke inhalation to a minimum. She wasn't certain what she would be walking in to find. Maybe he was already dead in that cage, or perhaps the room had collapsed. Maybe everything was on fire, him in the middle of it. With a swallow Nyiji charged towards the basement, kicking open the door and letting a faint light flood into the dank room.

Trafalgar cracked his eyes open as the light crept in, shadowed only by a slim figure that moved towards him, pushing fallen debris out of her way. She carried a thick silver suitcase at her side and he quickly noticed all the deep gashes made along her arms and torso, weeping a considerable amount of blood—and a ring of skeleton keys in hand.

Before she stopped in front of his cage, she set the suitcase down, noticing a sheathed sword had been placed a great distance from the cages. "You're lucky," she started, "it looks like your sword is here."

Law remained still and quiet as she tested each key in the lock to his cell, flipping through them as fast as someone shuffling papers. "I—well, I can get us out of here… but we need to be fast, this place will be nothing but cinders very soon."

Their eyes connected then and the lock released, door swinging open in her hands. Careful not to touch him more than she needed to, Nyiji reached in and peeled the tape from his mouth slowly and crumpled the silvery material in her palm. "Can you walk?"

"Yes."

Slipping out much more gracefully than she had, Law slid from the cage and onto his black loafer shoes, barely disturbing the chains that wrapped around his torso that kept his arms pressed tightly to his sides. Beautiful blue stones were embellished onto the chains, each one inlayed with welded-beads that held them in place. 'It must be sea stone prisms.' She had never seen them before, only heard about the devices and how the Navy had found great use in them to combat devil fruit users. Biting her tongue, she refrained from asking him if it hurt. Turning away from him, she collected the silver case and the sword she had seen him wield earlier into her arms and trudged forward. Hopping back over beams and clutter on her way out. She could hear Trafalgar moving behind her, seeming to have no trouble even covered in chains. Together the two walked back through the mansion, navigating through rougher parts of the destroyed building and blasting heat, past a screaming man and out into the open fresh air of the island.

"We need to keep moving," Law advised her as she bent over her knees to catch her breath.

Her clothes, shirt once white, were now soaked crimson and her flesh was stained with her own blood. The amount drew some concern for Law, for if she keeled over, there would be no hope for him to release his bindings. He chanced a look at her loose grip on the keys and his nodachi. She was pressing the items to her chest and though her grip looked tight, every now and again he could see his sheathe slipping from her hold, inches at a time. She tried her best to straighten back up but found she only sagged a little more, the sword slipping from her grasp to brush against the ground where she then began to use it for support. Law's jaw tightened as he watched her and suppressed his irritation.

"Puppy-ya! We need to get moving! We don't know who else is on this island."

Her unfocused gaze turned to him and she gave a slight nod. Using his nodachi as a cane, she let it hold her weight as they trekked towards the mansion's garden. A trail of thick woodchips led them through an array of topiaries, each shaped into its own unique animal that eventually led into a forest half destroyed from a previous fire and half lush with green leaves. Nyiji could remember the trail well-enough, but found her pace slowing more than she liked when she realized she was leaving behind a trail of blood on the chips. Droplets ranging in size followed her footsteps and she frowned, realizing that it made them very easy to track. They had to get to the tunnels before they were found though, it was the only thing she knew of that could keep them safe. Of course, if the blood led straight there, it would negate the entire plan. Having nothing on her person to quell the bleeding or to bind her wounds, she realized she had very few options to cover up her tracks and keep their destination a secret.

She briefly flicked her gaze forward when she noticed that Trafalgar had stopped upon noticing her delay. She didn't want to risk him asking her to release his bindings this early, she'd hoped to avoid that confrontation along with his assistance for as long as possible. So, sucking in a breath that made her chest rise, she began to lead them away from the woodchipped trail and into the sparse woods.

The trees were few and far between though the trunks were sizeable enough to provide them cover as they headed farther in. The hills were beginning to slope up as it became clear they were on a mountain. Retaining walls made out of thick logs of wood were setup in tiers, layered in every visible direction, that they had to climb over to get closer to the mountain side. Nyiji had them climbing and walking in what seemed to be random directions until she was finally content that her blood trails were spread far enough apart, even double-backed on that if anyone did go searching for them, it would do little to help. Exhaustion had certainly caught up to her though and she swayed dangerously as she had to climb over a brief retaining wall on all fours.

"You're losing too much blood," Trafalgar spoke up from somewhere behind her after a period of time passed. "we need medical supplies."

"There are tunnels up ahead that will lead us farther up the mountain to the factories. We'll be safe there," she answered, coughing a little at the end.

"Tunnels?" he cast a look her way, "you didn't mention any tunnels."

That was because she hadn't expected to share the information with him in the first place. The tunnels had been a secret shared to her from Owens, who had learned the information by winning a game of poker against a very drunk island worker and it had been the true saving grace for her and her crewmates. It was also her ace in the hole after learning that she was being forced to return.

" _Oi, oi. You're getting awful comfortable with this rat._ "

Nyiji glanced around her to find the inanimate voice, a little panic rising in her chest when her first-mate failed to appear. Law frowned as he took a moment to rest against a tree, aware by the mere sight of her that she beginning to suffer from her blood loss. Her skin was flushed and covered in a sheen of sweat, pupils nearly invisible. He suspected she was growing delirious and faint, a terrible combination when paired with their situation.

"Puppy-ya, I need you to focus. Can you do that for me?"

"I am focused!" she snapped, waving a hand at him in frustration that just about sent her tumbling to the earth below.

Trafalgar moved towards her until they were standing close, eyes examining the situation and creating solutions. "Take off your shirt and tear it into strips."

Nyiji blanched at him and her face turned a deep rouge, nearly a match for her stained shirt. "Excuse me!? I am not undressing in front of you! If you wanted to take advantage of me, you should have done it back aboard your submarine when I was your prisoner!"

He fought against the twitching smirk at his mouth, a series of ideas flashing through his mind that he had to quickly shake off. "This is no time for modesty. If we don't stop the bleeding soon, neither of us will escape this island alive, now hurry up."

"I'm not walking around half-naked!" she shouted at him and turned, ready to take off, eager to put distance between them.

He easily side stepped her, eyes fiercely rooting her to her spot. "We will deal with it afterwards, now shut up and do as I say."

Flushed but accepting, she demanded he turn around and keep his back to her at all times, only moving to shed her shirt once he obeyed. The material stuck to parts of her skin where blood had dried, pulling painfully at the wounds until her torso was freed from its confines. Nyiji deeply regretted not wearing her undershirt that day, now left with nothing to cover her breasts. As she tore into the fabric with her teeth, ripping the cloth with the last recesses of her strength, Law began to instruct her.

"You'll want to bind only the largest wounds, anything still bleeding. Anything shallow or clotted can wait."

She cast a glance down at her body to examine her wounds. There were so many it churned her stomach in disgust. Her arms had gotten the worst of the assault, but most of the slits on her hands and forearms were shallow, so she ignored them. On her upper arms she tied some pieces from the remains of her shirt, clumsily knotting them using one hand and her teeth. Her chest, though she didn't really want to look, was covered by a long gash that ran from her collarbone all the way to her right breast and stung painfully when she tried to fiddle with it.

"I don't know how to wrap this…" she admitted.

Keeping his back turned, Law answered her with a question, inquiring: "Where does the wound run?"

"Uhm—my…my collarbone to my…"

His head bobbed in understanding as she drifted off and Nyiji self-consciously drew a throbbing arm around herself.

"Does it run horizontal or vertical?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Vertically…"

"Wrap it diagonally. Start at your shoulder and wrap it across your chest as if it were a sling—just don't put your arms in it. Then pull it up your back and secure it."

Nyiji followed his directions with a few cries of pain, particularly when she had to reach behind her to bring the cloth around her back and secure it to its partner at her shoulder. Next, she focused on the worst of her wounds, a deep gash in her stomach that split apart whenever she bent forward or back. It looked ugly and wept blood when she pressed the cloth against it, wrapping it twice around her as tight as possible. When she was left with only a few pieces of her torn shirt, she focused on wrapping what other wounds that she could.

"I'm done," she told him, returning to crossing her arms over her chest to keep her decency.

"Can you stand on your own?" he asked.

"I should be—I'll be fine. We're not much farther now, we just need to get closer to the cliffside."

"What am I looking for?" Law asked as he began the trek forward, keeping his promise and gaze straight ahead as he passed her and put her behind him.

Nyiji shifted nervously as she watched him move farther away. Collecting his sword and the suitcase from the ground, she began to follow while issuing him directions: "There are boulders that cover the entrance. It's a tight squeeze but you'll find a crack in them."

* * *

 _Author's note;_

 _Huge thank you to those that continue favoriting and following my story! Even if you're silent, it's incredible to me that there are that many out there enjoying my work. And I am sorry for the delay in editing and posting this chapter, I have plenty excuses but won't bore you with them. If it helps, I'm going to start editing the next chapter right after posting so I can try to return to weekly updates with the odd delay here and there.  
_

 _I was really looking forward to posting this one too, so I hope you all enjoyed it! From here on, there will be a lot more adventure, action and interactions to come._


	7. Chapter Seven

Standing in the mouth of a cavernous tunnel, Law took his time exploring what he could in the dark as Nyiji squeezed herself through the tiny entrance behind him. The space appeared to be used at one point in time for mining, with long tracks heading in deeper and an upturned cart left near the entrance. Little alcoves had been carved into the walls, small enough to hold a candle or a lantern and spaced out every five feet, covered in cobwebs and thick skins of dust. It was becoming very apparent that the cold space hadn't been used in years, perhaps decades.

It was no wonder that she had led them here, in search of safety, to a place likely forgotten by those that remained on the island.

"A little way ahead the tunnels begin to branch off, but there's a route we can take to get to the factory," Nyiji called from behind him.

Beginning to turn around Law stopped when he remembered his promise to keep his back to her until they could find something suitable to cover her nakedness with. "What exactly was done in the factories here?"

"I don't know, we weren't allowed near them but I am sure they'll have some usable supplies."

"Then it's time you release me from these chains. I'll carry on ahead and get what's needed."

Nyiji had to forcefully swallow the 'no' that just about popped out at the thought of releasing him from the only thing that guaranteed her safety. Though it wasn't his fault she had been forced to tear up her shirt to use as wrappings for her wounds, she'd be damned if she was going to give any man the opportunity to take advantage of her again—especially this one. She wasn't blind to Trafalgar's nature either, she knew how low on his priorities she ranked. Getting her out alive had never been his intention, he was only after information and secrets. Now that he had asked, well demanded, that she help release him however she wasn't sure how to get away with denying him. Technically they were safe in the tunnels and if she refused him, she could be setting herself up for disastrous consequences be it sooner or later. The ring of skeleton keys felt heavy in her hands.

"Puppy-ya," he drawled as he began to turn around, impatient with her delays.

"Don't!" she cried and pulled the suitcase up to cover her breasts in case he continued to turn. "I—I will try."

"Then hurry," he griped as she walked towards him to examine the encircling chains on his body for a keyhole. She continued to hold the case against her chest, breasts squeezed against the metal as she circled him to locate the lock resting down by the front of his hip.

"Close your eyes," she demanded when she realized she would have to stand in front of him without her temporary cover to test each key.

Law obeyed and let his eyelids fall shut, letting out a long sigh in the process. Nyiji moved to her knees and placed the suitcase nearby, then fiddled with the keys, considerably slower than she had been when she was trying to unlock his cage door back inside the mansion.

She was hesitant at first to touch the chains and the little blue stones that decorated them. With a little curiosity she reasoned that she should at least know how it felt, since she would be living the rest of her life as a Devil Fruit user. Pressing her fingertips to the cool metal, she squeezed her eyes closed, nothing could have prepared her for it. It felt like a wave crashing against her, sweeping all of the energy from her body in one go. As if she had been filled with lead, her body slumped and her lungs constricted. She pulled away, regretting ever touching it in the first place and glared at the tiny evil prisms that had made her feel as if they had temporarily sucked out her soul for a meal. Tilting her chin up to look at Law's face, she took in the calm expression on his sharp features. There wasn't a single thing about him that betrayed what he must have been feeling.

His chin tilted down, eyes remaining closed, after he felt her staring. "Are you going to hurry up or keep staring?"

Nyiji bit her lip and turned away from her scan of his piercings and facial hair to forcefully jam the first key into the lock, twisting and wiggling it to no avail. "Shut up."

Law let out a little laugh at the pouting tone to her voice, it was obvious she was sulking for being caught. It was something he was accustomed to and expected from most women. "Would you like me to open my eyes and make it even?" he teased.

"Don't you dare!" she snapped, looking back up at him to make sure he hadn't looked. Once she was sure his eyelids weren't about to open, she returned to testing each key, a little faster than before. She didn't miss the smile it brought him. "That was the last one…"

"What?" he opened his eyes suddenly, glancing down at the keys in her hands.

It took her a moment to realize he was looking at her, eyes wide and glued to her body as if realizing what he had done in surprise, and then Nyiji reacted with a shout of surprise as she covered herself with her bandaged arms. Law continued to stare at her, blinking away the sight of round orbs and perky nipples along with the disappointment over the keys failing to free him.

"You looked!" she yelled as she got to her feet, still covering herself.

"Try them again," He snapped at her, ignoring the embarrassed flush to her cheeks and the way her skin looked wrapped up in the tatters of her shirt.

Nyiji shook her head and long black hair flew around her thin facial features. "No! I will not give you another chance to sneak a peak!"

Law allowed his shoulders to sag and his eyelids to close as the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose grew—if only he had access to his arms and hands. Well, if he did, he would probably be strangling her little neck until it matched the colors of the other bruises scattered across her body. "It was an accident—what are you doing?!"

"Leaving!" she snapped as she grabbed his nodachi along with the suitcase and began to walk deeper into the tunnels.

He moved to follow her, shouting at her bare back where he could still see blood seeping through her poor bandaging attempts. "And just where exactly do you think you're going to go?"

"The factory, I'll find my own supplies! _You_ can stay here."

"You need me," he pressed as he caught up to her with his long legs, "you don't even know what to look for."

Her silver eyes narrowed at him as he matched her pace to walk alongside her. He was right in his assumption, she had zero medical knowledge and no real clue as to how to treat her own wounds. Even wrapping and binding them as Trafalgar had talked her through earlier, had been unfamiliar territory for her. Whenever she had been injured in the past there had always been one option for her and that was to suffer and heal naturally.

"Then…then give me your shirt," she reasoned with him, face still flush with embarrassment though she didn't dare look at him.

Law glanced down at his shirt that was bound beneath the chains and looked back at her with a raised brow, "And how exactly do you expect me to do that?"

She let out a wail of frustration and stomped a few paces ahead before she slowed and let him catch up to her. With his arms pinched and locked to his sides and her inability to touch the chains that held him, she knew it was a futile and ridiculous suggestion. Quietly, nearly inaudible, she told him to " _just forget it"_ and carried onwards as the cave grew darker until neither pirate could see where they were heading.

Nyiji kept one hand on the wall to guide them and checked every now and again that the dark pirate Captain was still following behind her. Eventually the tunnel began to decrease in size, becoming a tight passage that climbed higher into the mountain's middle before opening to a chamber filled with numerous shafts that led out in all directions. Light rained into the room from a tiny hole in the ceiling that had been setup using tiny mirrors to reflect sunlight into the main chamber.

At each passage a small inscription had been inscribed beside the wooden frames that held them together, which Nyiji examined carefully until she found the correct route. "This one will take us to the closest point near the factory. There's no cover after we leave the tunnels though, so we need a plan."

Flashes of her detailed map ran through his mind as he mentally charted a possible route. From what she had drawn, there wouldn't be anything but buildings the higher up the mountain they went and gated workshops that would only be accessible through damaging the fence lines. With his body restrained however, it would be impossible for him to fight their way inside and with her current state and whatever abilities she possessed, he dismissed the possibility that she could be of use.

"If we can't fight our way in, then we need to go in unseen. Surely you know of some unused pathways?"

Nyiji shook her head and squeezed her arms around the collection of items. "I've never been up there…"

Turning, Law narrowed his gaze on her, beginning to spot the tells in her mannerisms. Or perhaps it was just becoming easier to read her when she was half-dressed and vulnerable. "Never been up there, or not allowed ' _close enough_ '. Which is it? Because your maps were quite detailed for you to have never seen the area."

She sucked in a breath of air and turned her face away, hair shielding her from his view so he wouldn't see the frustration as she tore into her already split lips. Trafalgar grinned from his place in the center of the room where the light shone down on him, casting shadows against his hat and down his face.

"It raises a lot of questions, really, Puppy-ya. Questions about _you_ in particular."

"You may not understand loyalty, Trafalgar—but I do," she answered him. "Whatever information I have about the island… isn't necessarily firsthand knowledge. The factory… it was off-limits, but… some of us were curious."

"So, one of your crewmates went to the factory," he surmised, watching to see if she would continue to lie. "came back and then told you about the area?"

At Nyiji's continued silence to his comment, he spoke again: "I suppose it doesn't matter, so long as you know of a possible route we can take." Slowly he walked towards her, brushing past her shoulder to enter the tunnel first and taking a sadistic pleasure in the way she swayed from the contact with his chains and body. Casting a final word over his shoulder, he called out to her: "Loyalty can be an admirable trait, Puppy-ya. If it's applied to the right people."

The comment hit her like a brick to the stomach and brought back something the butler had told her during their fight, a sickening accusation against her Captain that just couldn't be true. Alistair had been there for fifteen years of her life, he had raised her when no one in the orphanage had cared whether she lived or died. It was inconceivable that he would _sell_ her. Sell any of them… yet something about Trafalgar's words stung.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Nyiji hurried her pace to catch up to the man, stumbling in the dark over rocks and dirt clods before she bumped into his body, along with the sea stone chains. She fell to the ground rather quickly, light headed and cursing. The last thing she needed was him to suspect that her clumsiness was being caused by something other than blood loss.

"Maybe we should take a break first?" she asked him, gently holding her temple as if it would help clear the spinning sensation of the rolling tunnel.

Law glanced in the direction of her voice, searching her out. A flicker of light, barely bigger than a matchstick appeared in her hand, lighting up the area. His eyebrow rose high, but he kept the information logged away. It was as if she wasn't completely aware of what she was doing around him. From the parlor of her skin, significantly lighter than her already ivory tones, he could tell she wasn't doing any better than before her wounds had been wrapped. Carefully he sunk to the ground beside her, keeping his knees bent towards his body in the small tunnel's width.

"There's a storm grate, built near the factory to keep the island from flooding… there's a way into the factory from there," she admitted to him finally.

In the light from her hands she could see a head of strawberry bent towards her, little freckles pulled into a smile of amazement as his eyes took in the little glimmering flicker. At least, Nyiji tried to console herself, the ghostly image wasn't appearing with a broken leg and pleading with her not to leave him behind again.

"Tomo," she whispered, "he was a bit younger than me, our newest addition to the crew. I only went with him part-way to the factory… he was the only one who went inside."

Law's head fell back against the boards of wood lining the tunnel, keeping it supported on three sides, and let his eyes slip closed as the chains finally stole the last of his energy. "What happened afterwards?" he asked.

Nyiji let her eyes slip away from the innocent ghost to Trafalgar. He finally looked uncomfortable and weak, wincing as he would try to adjust himself into a more comfortable position. The chains must have been terrible, having been on him for so long. Her chest clenched as she recalled the feeling of touching the stones herself.

"He didn't come out, so I went up higher hoping to find him from a better vantage point. I saw him trying to escape. He didn't make it."

She noticed him nod and then his head lolled to the side, his body arching as he slipped over. "OH!" wrapping her arms around him, she did her best to pull him back into a sitting position from the floor, fighting off the angry wrath of the sea stone as it held a suffocating wave of false-water over her body. After she was sure he was steady, she climbed over his legs to move in front of him, pulling off his spotted hat and checking the temperature on his forehead with the back of her hand.

"I don't know what I'm doing, am I doing this right? When do I tell if you have a fever?" she tried to ask him.

His eyelids barely opened, little moons turned into crescents as he tried to focus on her. He felt so tired. She was worrying a hand through her braid again, tugging and twisting the free strands of hair out as she tried to figure out what she could do for him. _'It was her fault he was in this position,'_ she thought.

"The chains," his voice came out rough and low. "I need you to get them off."

Concern for her safety and the awareness of her nude body left her mind as she looked around for the keys she had left on the ground, a guilty conscience aiding her in her movements. "but none of the keys worked… I will try them again—"

"Smash the lock."

Nyiji turned back to him, still pressed close to his body. "How the hell am I supposed to do that? I can't touch those chains!"

Law nodded towards the hat in her spare hand, "if you cover your hands you can endure limited contact with a sea stone. Use my nodachi."

"Nodachi?" she repeated, confused by the name.

"My sword—use the hilt, it's strong enough to handle a bashing."

The light in her hand circled around his hat for a moment before resting around her wrist like a bracelet, aiding her as she moved away from him to search for his sword that she had left beside the suitcase. The swords sheathe was longer than her entire body and then some, but that wasn't what had her stalling. Upon touching the weapon, she felt a menacing presence as it responded to her intentions to wield it. She hadn't felt this when she'd carried it earlier, but in her hands the nodachi responded in a way she'd never felt before, flickering an angry energy towards her for being handled by someone other than its master.

"This sword is cursed," she realized, mouth hanging open in surprise.

Law didn't respond. Instead he sucked in a shallow breath and tried to hold it in for as long as he could before he exhaled. Comically Nyiji fumbled with the sword, turning it around so the hilt faced his body before grabbing up his hat again to use as a mock-glove. With her hand covered she pulled at the chain around him to get the lock into a more suitable position before she weakly tapped the sword's hilt against it. The blade reverberated from the hilt up into her arms.

"Fuck, how is this going to work?" she complained.

"Use as much force as you can muster," Law sighed, quietly overlooking her body as she repeated her weak attempt to smash open the lock that held him. "If you have enough energy left, use that light like you did before."

She paused with the sword held up over her shoulder, arms drawn together as her lips pulled closed and thin eyebrows knitted together. Eyeing the sword for a moment as she tried to recall how she'd been able to get her hands covered in that glowing light, she then looked at the clasp around her wrist. It was currently working as a flashlight in the dark tunnel. She just had to remember what it had felt like when the light had helped her bust open the door to her cage and repeat the action. The devil fruit within her was barely flickering in response to her now though, unlike when she had fought the butler, but its words still echoed deep within her. _'If you will it, it will be.'_

She just had to command a response from it, give it a little of her spirit as fuel and just hope that it would naturally reply. The light around her wrist began to twist into another shape, curling around her left arm like a snake made-up of little circles. It didn't feel as strong as it had earlier and it struggled to stay alight, but Nyiji pushed everything she could into it and commanded the fruit to help strengthen her next blow. If she held the sword accurately enough then it might only take one or two hits to clear the lock off of his body. She took a swing, bringing her elbows into her body as the hilt smacked into the lock and sent it flying broken to the ground. The chains around his body rattled and sunk as they lost their anchor and succumbed to gravity, no longer able to keep him held in place so tightly. The nodachi was quickly set aside and using the spotted hat, Nyiji helped him by pulling the chains from his body and untangling him. Law let a few coughs escape as he fiercely tried to return the air to his lungs. His body shook a little from the relief and he had to place his palms down on the ground to act as support to remain upright without the female pirate's support.

"Are you feeling better?" she worried.

Before he could respond her light flickered out and they were encased once more in darkness. He heard her curse and then felt her body brush over his as she tried to move away or search for the things she had left on the ground. Law let her climb away, knocking a body part against his knee rather painfully in the process. When her body heat was finally gone and her shuffling had stopped, Law pulled the long-sleeved shirt over his head and held it in his hands. "Put this on."

"What?"

Nyiji tried to move back towards him, crawling on her knees as she retraced the path she had just taken when she felt the press of fabric against her face. Spluttering for words, she immediately pulled away and self-consciously drew her arms around her body even though she was concealed in the dark.

"It's my shirt," he informed her. "it's not going to bite."

She was glad now that they were encased in darkness so he couldn't see the look on her face as she accepted the offered clothes. The action had not only been unexpected and surprising but made the corner of her lips twitch. She wasn't sure if she was even putting the material on correctly, with her luck it would be on backwards, but she was grateful to have something to cover herself with.

 _"Thank you,"_ she whispered. Lightly fingering the front material of the shirt, she allowed herself a short moment to appreciate its comfort.

Though they couldn't see one another, Law nodded before he was getting up to his feet, body a thousand times lighter and once more in his control. "Let's get out of here. I'll cover us and you'll take the lead to that storm drain."

He felt a bump of metal against his side as she joined him. "Alright. It's straight onwards from here."

From there a silence fell between them and continued even as a space of light appeared ahead. The tunnel's mouth opened up into a series of thick thorn bushes that accompanied overgrown weeds. In the background, framing the wild-growth was a large chain-linked fence that went on for a mile and behind it, a series of giant buildings that were rife with noise.

Exiting the tunnel, Nyiji cupped a hand over her brow to shield her eyes from the gloomy sunlight above. The cloud coverage had moved out of the way, clearing a path for the yellow ball to shine through but where the clouds had vanished, thick plumes of smoke now took over, creating another filter of sepia over the area. It was all too reminiscent of her previous time on the island and sickeningly familiar to her. Turning her attention back onto Trafalgar as he pulled branches of thorns away from her and gestured her to move forward, she found herself startled into stillness at the sight of thick beautiful black trails of ink that covered his upper body. She recalled seeing the hint of tattoos on his forearms, depending on what he had worn while they were aboard the submarine but she hadn't ever thought there could have been more. Both arms had matching tattoos on not only his hands and fingers, but the entire limb up to the shoulder and carrying over to his chest was a grand intricate design of a heart.

 _'How fitting,'_ she thought, and then he turned and the surprise kept going.

A giant symbol of his jolly roger grinned at her, penned in thick solid lines between his shoulder blades. It was a reminder of the man's terrible wardrobe choices that she'd been forced to wear at one point in time and also of his capabilities.

"My nodachi," he reached an inked hand out for her to hand the weapon over.

Timidly she handed the weapon over and hoped it wouldn't be turned against her a second later. The nodachi quickly found its home back against his shoulder and a wrapped decorative red string from the sheathe fell to hang down his back, temporarily drawing her eyes up from his tattoo. Waving a hand to hurry her after he noticed her still lingering behind him, Law was surprised with how quickly she responded to his commands this time. He could still feel her eyes on him, trying to discreetly watch him from her peripherals for some reason or another, but otherwise she kept a few paces ahead.

What he didn't know was that Nyiji was trying to silently take the man's stoicism apart. He'd appeared to bounce back without any lingering effects of the sea stone prism chains, recovering easily and acting as if he'd never been affected in the first place. He walked with confidence and purpose, nearly arrogant in his own strength now that there were no chains to hold him back. _'Was that normal? Or did it take practice, suffering through the sea's effects just to increase one's endurance and recovery time?'_

Reprimanding herself for allowing herself to get carried away, Nyiji mentally tore her attention away from him to focus on the fence and the bodies that continued moving behind it. She would have time to contemplate those types of thoughts once she'd secured her freedom.

For the time being the figures gowned in bright yellow bio-suits were ignorant to the pirate's presence, occupied with moving great pillars of steel to a growing pile or carting sealed crates with 'bio-hazard' stamped on the side. There were so many of them that she couldn't completely keep track of a single one as they kept blending into the crowd. They kept weaving and vanishing into buildings or behind stacked objects, reappearing again alongside another man that added to the total count. It was like watching ants at work and it was endless. Skirting another thorn bush, Nyiji dared to move just a little closer as she continued to watch them warily.

 _'Just what are they doing?'_

A siren sounded above the work force and bodies began to turn in their direction, looking out at the fields outside for intruders. Law grabbed a handful of his yellow and black shirt and forcibly dragged Nyiji into his side behind a bush, her butt hitting the ground with a thump. Drawn from his shoulder, the nodachi hummed as it was withdrawn from its sheathe, black blade singing as it met fresh air. A tattooed hand of death extended over her head then and a small whirlwind appeared, spinning between his fingers dangerously before exploding around them in a giant field. She let out a little gasp as bullets whizzed past her ears, immediately responding to the blue film. Gun blasts were firing from behind the fence, one after another, as the yellow-suits began to arm themselves and line up.

"Get moving now!" Law shouted at her.

She scrambled to her feet and left the experienced devil fruit user to handle the chaos as it unfurled around them. Running as fast as her aching body could manage, she didn't have any time to look over her shoulder to watch him protect them as they escaped. For every blast of a rifle, there was a great sweeping sound just behind her as Law split the bullets with a swipe of his sword. There were moments he would redirect their trajectory, sending them sailing back to the fence line but she didn't get a chance to watch. The only thing she felt aware of was his footsteps as he kept up with her, chasing her as she led them through the undergrowth. Her heart was hammering in her chest, lungs constricting as the panic induced terrible memories that chased after her, just as fast as the other pirate. It was the second time in her life that she'd run for her life from the yellow dressed workers and though their faces were each unique beneath their masks, to Nyiji, they wore the same faces as demons that were chasing their prey down.

Dirt clods were upset by her boot's traction on the ground, leaving a trail before vanishing quite suddenly as the undergrowth came to a stop, taken over by blacktop. Buildings of stone and large open windows greeted them into the mountain side's most active hub. Nyiji took them on a path down the center street lined with gas-lamps. Suddenly the blue sphere around them vanished and she chanced a quick look over her shoulder just to confirm that Law was still with her.

"Keep going!" he snapped.

Numbered warehouses sat at every street corner with big garage doors sided with warped metal. Each building varied in size but none were as small as the one Nyiji led them to. Barely bigger than the medical closet she had been given as a room in the submarine was a shed capped with a tin roof. Beside the locked shed was a wide square grate, nearly invisible as a thick bush had grown overtop. She ripped at its roots to force the metal bars up. The lid coming out looked like a cookie tray in her hands. The two slipped down into the hole, Law landing easily on his feet while Nyiji hit the ground in a small heap. Her mind was spinning and her breathing was uneven. Attempting to support herself onto her hands and knees, she collapsed on the slick stone that was still wet from a previous rain.

He bent to one knee to look over her, noticing that the front of his shirt was beginning to darken against her stomach along with parts on her arms. Clearly her bandages had soaked through, doing nothing to really clot her injuries. Making a mental note that she might need a blood transfusion after such a drastic loss, he hesitated to check her vitals, not knowing how well she would respond to the action.

"Can you stand?" he asked instead.

"I just need a second," she wheezed and pinched her eyes closed.

Law looked up at the open grate above them and droplets of water dripped onto his cheek, falling from the torn roots that had curled their way into the hole after them. Sliding his sword back into its sheathe, he stood back to his full height and let out a sigh. "We don't have time, here—"

Her eyes flickered open to see his sheathed sword being jammed in her face, held out for her to grasp. She looked at him with uncertainty. _'Why was he offering his weapon to her?'_

"I'll carry you, so I need you to hold this," he explained.

"Carry me?" she repeated, blanching out as he shoved the sword into her hands, turned and bent once more, facing her with his jolly roger. The smiley face grinned at her. "I can walk on my own!"

"Shut up and climb on already, unless you're fine with bleeding out here."

Her frustration built as she was reminded of Killian's stubbornness, yet another comparison she could make between the two men. It didn't matter how she felt—once they had decided on something, it simply meant she had to obey. Yet his reasoning made sense. She wasn't doing very well and her body was struggling just to keep up with the adrenaline that was rushing out of her. Still, she was uncomfortable with the idea of being so physically close to him. The trust she would have to place in him. Glancing at the sword and case in her arms, she concocted an idea.

"I can't carry—"

"Just put the case and sword between us after you have climbed on," he cut her off, already prepared for any rebuttal.

He heard her swallow and then felt her fingers brush against his shoulders, slowly sliding around his neck until he could see the black sleeves of his shirt. She was so tiny in the clothes that the sleeves practically hung off of her arms and covered her hands. Shuffling closer, her knees bumped against his feet and he knew she was ready to be picked up. Sliding his hands around the backs of her thighs he lifted and grinned when she squealed and squeezed around his throat, pressing her body against him as if she didn't trust him not to drop her.

"Squeeze your legs for a minute." He patted her thigh.

She did as she was told and he bent to pick up the suitcase off the floor, handing it over so she could fit it between their bodies, creating a barrier between her warm body and his bare back. When he was sure that she was ready for the next item, he picked his nodachi up off the floor and allowed her to slide that too, between them. Leaving the hilt to hang in his peripheral over his shoulder, she wiggled the sword to draw his attention to its location. It was placed perfectly to allow him access, making him capable of drawing the blade as needed even if she remained on his back.

"Ready?" he asked as her forehead sunk to rest against the back of his neck. He felt her nod her consent before he tucked his hands back around her legs and hoisted her up as he stood and began to walk.

"Any idea of where we're going?" he asked.

Nyiji shook her head against him, squeezing the case between her arms as she clung around his neck. She felt like a useless hanging monkey. "No, but if we keep heading down…there will be more storm drains… and eventually, one of them should lead inside the building."

He could feel her breath as she talked, voice growing quieter with every word. A gentle yawn escaped her, fatigue and blood loss taking its hold. Law bounced her on his back. "You need to stay awake."

"I'm trying," she admitted, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she squeezed him a little tighter.

They carried on through the storm drain, lucky that it wasn't as dark as the mountain's cavernous tunnels. It wasn't hard for Law to keep his balance along the stretch though he was forced into a slower pace once the water began to trickle in, making the path slick under heel. He didn't want to make a misstep and send them both tumbling to the ground. They passed numerous drains and grates on their way, all of them various sizes but none seemed to open up into any buildings. It wasn't until Law paused as he overheard men talking above that he felt they were on the right track. Standing underneath a tiny drain, similar to one that could be found in a shower or even in his medical theatre, he stared up at the shadows and listened.

 _"Obe hasn't come back yet, has he?"_

 _"I don't think so, I haven't heard from him since his last radio in."_

A pair of feet stopped on top of the drain, shadowing the two pirates below. _"You think he got stuck in that fire?"_

 _"We can only hope,"_ the worker teased, gently punching a fist into his companion's shoulder. _"it's just a shame he didn't bring that girl here."_

 _"What girl?"_

 _"That one Rook sold us a few weeks ago, apparently Obe caught her. I thought you heard the broadcast?"_ his friend shook his head. _"you missed a fine piece of ass on that one. Tits out to here!"_

Law frowned as he heard the men laugh above them, their feet resuming their march. As their voices faded, he heard them bring up the subject of the alarm they had triggered, discussing what could be the possible cause. He felt Nyiji shift on his back, her thighs moving against his sides and arms loosening a little to allow her to lean back and stare up at the drain in silent thought. Though he couldn't see her face, he could imagine what she must look like, to of heard such information about herself and her Captain. He wondered if it was true. Unsure of what to say, Law carted them a little further down the path in silence, coming to a stop when he finally found a grate big enough for him to get through. Glancing at the girl on his back, he rolled a shoulder when he noticed her closed eyelids, urging her to keep awake for him.

"I need you to hold on. I'm going to move us upstairs."

Nyiji squeezed him as another sphere of blue filled her vision, this one considerably smaller than those she had seen previously. A whoosh of air went past her ears and with a blink, he had teleported them into the room upstairs, withdrawing his dome a second later. "What _is_ your fruit?" she finally asked, bewildered by his power.

Law's eyes barely turned to her as he replied: "Ope Ope no Mi."

The room they had teleported into was well-furnished as an office, with a wide desk pushed against one wall and a large blue chair seated behind it. Piles of papers and a little transponder snail sat at the desk, completely unorganized. A set of ugly beige chairs were near the front of the desk, likely for subordinates to sit at when being reprimanded. Pressed against the walls opposite the desk, a series of wall shelves were situated with awards and basic pottery. Law scanned each piece and memorized the different names from a distance.

"Puppy-ya, you're going to have to stay here. I'll be back with supplies."

Easing her off of his back, he turned around to find her clinging to her armful of items, wobbling on her own two feet. When she didn't argue against him leaving her behind, Law quickly grabbed a hold of the side of her face and drew her close so he could examine her glassy irises. "Puppy-ya, do you understand?"

"I do. I'll stay here. You'll be back," though she answered him, she still held that faraway look in her eyes. She didn't even seem to be registering his hand on her face.

Guiding her, Law helped her get down to the floor, tucked underneath the desk where she stood the best chance of remaining hidden should anyone come in after he left. He didn't quite like the idea of leaving the woman to fall unconscious in her current state, but he would be faster without her and right now, speed was priority.

"Don't come out from underneath this desk. Here, use this," he grabbed a small table clock off the desk and handed it to her. "I will be back in ten minutes. I need you to watch that, don't close your eyes. Stay awake, alright?"

Listless, she stared at the owl shaped clock in her hands, resting on top of the suitcase like it was a perch. She hiccupped a little laugh and Law snatched up his sword from beside her. "Stay awake," he repeated to her before he was leaving the room behind.

Shutting the door behind him softly Law turned and examined the large and very open factory floor. Giant tubs that nearly reached the ceiling sat in numerous rows, consoles attached to their bases to control temperature and other settings. Quickly, he slipped behind one of the vats before one of the workers noticed his presence. They appeared to be evaluating how each tub's contents were doing, bouncing back and forth in a continuous watch. As Law moved on, he found more doors containing multiple offices that he chose to ignore and a staircase made up of bricks curled into a spiral that led upstairs.

The next floor brought him to a busier area where men dressed in thick yellow bio-suits moved around, coming and going in hallways that spiderwebbed into each other. Some spoke freely about the alarm, others discussed a product's delay. He wished he had a better opportunity to spy on them, but as it was, he had to expel a little effort just to avoid them whenever they happened to turn onto his path. It forced him to duck into multiple rooms or another hallway every time, losing track of whatever conversation he had been following.

In one of the rooms, Law finally found a set-up of gurneys and medicine cabinets where supplies had been locked up behind thick glass. Relieved, he rushed forward, pushing rolling trays out of his way without any regard to get to the cabinets. Scanning the shelves with an expert eye for what he needed, he frowned. There wasn't a great selection but after mentally selecting what would be most helpful in their situation he turned and began to prepare the perfect distraction. He would have to be quick and quiet and smashing into the cabinets was sure to be the opposite of that. Grabbing up one of the wheeled trays and placing a few heavy items onto its surface, he walked the cart out the door and into the hallway where he then sent it flying with one great push. The wheels spun wildly as the object skittered and flew down the hall, crashing into walls on its way and spilling the contents that had been placed on its top.

While this created a small diversion for him, Law headed back into the medical room and brought the hilt of his nodachi into the cabinets glass, shattering it instantly. He could hear the commotion the cart had caused a short distance away so he rushed with selecting the bottles and needles he would need. Before fleeing the room, he made sure to check the drawers and collect a small hand pump, an IV bag and a few other needed items before bagging it all in a spare blanket that he striped from one of the gurneys. Tying the blanket in a tight knot, he threw it over his shoulder and took off at a run, hoping that Puppy hadn't fallen asleep during his absence.

The cart finally crashed into a worker as they stepped into its path, scattering the last of the items to the floor. The ruckus drew the attention of other workers who swarmed towards the chaos. Taking his chance, Law headed down the hall, opposite the mess. He made it a safe distance away when something caught his eye, forcing his steps to a slow stop. Ahead of him were a series of rooms, walls made entirely from glass, that displayed multiple machines and other equipment the likes he'd never before seen. They whirred with life on their own, processing liquid that was constantly moved between small tubes, shuffled around and spun before being set down again. It was the only space in the entire facility not being monitored, as if that fact alone wasn't enough to draw him closer, interest spiked.

 _"This came from med bay, didn't it?"_

Law glanced over his shoulder as voices neared his position. Ducking into the first hallway available, he pressed himself flat against the wall just as the shadows passed by, likely on their way to the room he had just exited. He waited until the coast was clear before taking off at a run down the hall, only casting one disappointed look towards the glass rooms before shaking the regret off. It was just his luck that he wouldn't have the chance to investigate them now.

"Intruder!" a voice screamed behind him.

He winced. _'Crap…'_

Rather than turn and face the man as he called into his radio, _"intruder in hallway 2B!"_ Law wasted no time in getting back to the stairs. He took the steps three at a time and only came to a stop when a woman of massive bulk blocked the rest of the way down. Standing with hands on her hips and larger than a gorilla, she eyed him and brushed a bit of dust off the waist of an impressive pink dress that flattered her curves.

"And who do you think you are?" she asked him, flicking a whip of ash hair off her shoulder. Her dark eyes flitted over Law's naked torso and a smile pulled at her thick lips, painted an awful shade of green. "Please say _'intruder'_ , because I would just _love_ for you to intrude."

Law nearly grimaced at her innuendo. "If I say yes, will you move out of the way?"

The woman let out a bark of a laugh and covered her mouth with her forearm. With a feminine wave and a wink, she answered: "No chance, mi amor."

"Didn't think so," he grumbled as he withdrew his sword.

Standing at an abnormal height difference to the gorilla woman due to the stairs, Law used this to his advantage as he leapt at her with a great swing, cutting through the air while aiming at her torso. He felt his blade slide through her stomach, nearly splitting her apart—and then her body was reforming like gelatine, returning to one solid piece as if the sword had never taken a swing at her. She let out a girlish giggle and gasped at him.

"How crude! Real men must use their hands!"

Law barely dodged her hand as she swung out to grab him. She flailed with her miss but quickly recovered to spin on a heel in a tight twirl. Coming out of her spin, she threw another claw out at him, keeping him bouncing back on his heels to dodge her every move. It wasn't until he missed a step on one of the stairs ledges that she got a hold of him, hand clenching tightly around his face in a meaty grip. The gorilla woman turned into another spin as soon as she had him, lifting him off the ground with ease before she tossed Law back up the stairs where he crashed painfully. The blanket slipped from his grasp and he felt his nodachi clatter away, rolling down the steps, far from his reach. Rubbing his jaw, he flicked a dark glare at her and wiped a bit of blood from his lip. He'd bitten the inside of his mouth when he'd fallen down.

"So sorry mi amor, but we can't let any rats get away from here," she cooed to him and blew a kiss in his direction just as a net fell from above.

Law flinched as he was once more forced into contact with sea stone that had been weaved together within thick ropes and weights to encase a prisoner. He let out a shaky breath as he tried to force himself back up, to fight against a futile battle.

' _He could take this woman,'_ he thought, _'if she hadn't caught him off guard.'_

If he was free and able to, he would have struck the ground in his frustration. But as it was, he could only handle keeping one hand on the stairs to prevent himself from tumbling any further down. He didn't want to risk becoming even more entangled in the net. Resisting letting out a cry of turmoil, Law's head sank, trying desperately to think of a way out of his current predicament. In the corner of his eye he could see the Gorilla woman making her way towards him, laughing as if she had actually achieved something. Before she could reach the first step however a flash of black appeared, sliding out from between her legs and then a brilliant light exploded.

Forced to shut his eyes against the extreme flash, Law squinted and blinked his eyelids open just in time to see that Nyiji had thrown herself underneath the woman and come out between them, blasting her abilities as some sort of protective screen. It took a single blink to clear his vision and then the light was solidified around them, encasing himself and Nyiji in a swirling vortex of gold as she sat upright. Above him, he could see the men that had trapped him in the net struggling to break the shield.

"Sorry!" Nyiji called to him as she struggled to get to her feet while maintaining the sealed bubble around them. With each step she swayed and nearly tumbled, but still, she made it to him.

Offering Law a small smile, she held up a familiar spotted hat in her hands before she used it as a glove once again to help peel him free from the thick net. Behind them, the gorilla pounded against the shield of light, her face colored purple with rage. "How _dare_ you! You ate it! You ate it!" she screamed.

Mentally cataloging the gorilla's comment for later, Law did his best to ignore her screams and the men that poured down the stairs after them. They were all unable to enter the golden bubble. Filled with relief, he gathered the blanket back up into his hands along with his sword. Nyiji was already at his side and ready before he was, her eyes panicked and arms wrapped around the silver case. There was something in her expression that nearly threw him. She trusted him. She had saved him.

"Quick! Get us out of here!" she urged him. "I don't know how long I can hold this!"

Obeying her wishes, Law reached his hand out between them and summoned the swirling vortex of blue. _"Room."_

* * *

 _Author's note; I was really proud, I had pre-edited this chapter ahead of time to keep up with the weekly updates and then the suddenly reformatted it into random italics EVERYWHERE. Then I spent a good period just editing that since this site refused to correct that no matter how many times I uploaded it. Due to that, if you find any mistakes that I might have missed (spelling or otherwise) let me know! I'm also including a little comment about my slips of british spelling here and there. I eventually gave up on trying to americanize it. 'Organize' is so weird to spell with a z for me, did it, but so weird. Don't even get me started on 'gelatin'._

 _2/3 chapter's for Jiyan so far! This ones word-count was a little shorter and ended with a mild cliffhanger only to flow into the next chapter a little nicer._ _Promise, I am already working on editing that too!_


	8. Chapter Eight

Nyiji let her head fall back against the dirt to rest, eyes fluttering closed as she sighed in exhaustion. Her body was sore and ready to give into blissful sleep—of which she was constantly being denied. She was sick of Trafalgar's poking and prodding as he had worked to sow her wounds shut, but she didn't have it in her to complain. Later she would blame this on the exhaustion in an attempt to ignore a budding feeling of gratitude towards him.

When he had finished sealing her cuts, he carefully cleaned his hands in a solution he had stolen from the factory, being careful not to overuse what little of the liquid they had left. _'Who knew when they would need to use it again…'_

Noticing that her eyes had closed again, the eighth time in only five minutes, Law frowned. "You can't sleep yet," he said, hat returning to his head and casting a shadow across his face.

One eyelid fluttering open she looked at him lazily and repressed an exhale that threatened to come out too heavily. She didn't want him to think she was vocalizing a lack of appreciation for his assistance. Forcing both eyes open, she looked up at the concentrated beam of light above them. After returning from the factories and hiding out in the tunnels, he had made her sit in the center chamber where he would get the best amount of light to work with but now that night was settling in, their beam was barely noticeable.

Deciding to keep herself awake against the wishes of a throbbing headache in her temples and the heavy weight to her limbs that had made her fingers numb, she struck up a conversation: "What's next?"

"You need a blood transfusion," he answered.

She sprang up too quickly, wasting the last of her energy just to rest up on her elbows and glare at him. It took so much out of her just to keep sitting upright and it was clear by the sweat on her brow and the shaking in her arms that the struggle was about to overwhelm her, still, Nyiji did her best to snap at the doctor: "How the hell am I supposed to get that Trafalgar? In case you didn't notice where we are, we're in the middle of a death trap. The only people around want to kill us—"

"I know that," he cut her off as he occupied himself with setting up the IV tubes to the pump. "I'm a universal donor, I'll give you my blood."

Her eyes squinted at him in distrust. "For someone whose appellation is _'Surgeon of Death'_ , I'm not sure I trust where this is going."

Ignoring her since he was finished putting together his tools, Law bent over her arm and checked the crook of her elbow for a good vein. _'Mouthy as she was,'_ he thought with a small barely noticeable quirk of the lip, _'at least she didn't resist his treatments.'_

Even as he tied a strip of cloth around her upper-arm and flicked the bend to force a vein to rise, she kept still as the perfect patient (minus the mouth). Moving deftly, he pushed the needle into her flesh and then connected one in a matching location on his own arm. Connected on a secondary tube to the one running between them was the small pump that he'd setup. He squeezed the pump a few times, getting a solid pressure to start the procedure. Nyiji watched the entire time, a little mesmerized as red liquid began to flow from his arm into her own. A slight burning sensation picked up as the blood entered her system through the needle, but it was undoubtedly a million times easier to handle than the stitching had been. Law watched her closely throughout the entire process, looking at her for any reaction symptoms. He grew less concerned as time past and the light grew thinner above them.

"I'm tired. Can I sleep yet?" she yawned into her hand, still watching the IV in her arm with curiosity.

"Soon," he promised and leaned back onto his palm as he sat beside her, one hand still working the pump by his hip. "once I'm sure you won't have any reactions."

" _Alright Kill…_ " she muttered deliriously as the dark Captain's form shifted into the familiar face of her cook. Amber colored eyes changed into a clearer darker blue and leaned closer to her, and the small patch of hair on his chin grew into a thick beard along his jawline. "You need to shave," she remarked.

Law scratched at his chin, feeling the prickle of hair against his fingers. "That aside, Puppy-ya, I need you to focus. Do you know who you're talking to right now?"

Her swollen lips pressed together, making a little bead of blood appear between the cracks and the split that ran down the middle of her bottom lip. Letting her eyes fall closed as she tried to think about his strange question and irregular speech, Nyiji nearly nodded off before Law moved closer to her and abruptly pat her cheek, drawing her attention back to him. She looked so helpless on the ground but at least there was a definite color returning to her skin.

"Killian?" she repeated after recovering from her stunned state, recalling that he had asked her a question. _She was so tired._

"No. Try again Puppy-ya."

The confusion began to melt from her as his face returned to normal, as if Killian's mirage was bleeding from him. The kind eyes she had grown up with, the beard that she hated on him transformed back into that cold ochre stare of a stranger. Smooth faced, and slimmer but with sharper features. This wasn't her childhood friend. The dark hair was so similar but it was clear that Trafalgar looked nothing like her friend with his sideburns and his golden earrings. It was all so different; she couldn't believe she'd ever confused them.

A wave of sadness swept over her as she realized that her friend was nowhere in sight and in response, she threw her opposite arm, free of the IV, across her face to hide the tears that sparked. She missed Killian so much that she could feel her heart physically breaking in half, missing a large piece that had been unwittingly taken away. She knew that if Killian were there to see her in such a state, he'd be prepared to suppress her feelings with a well-cooked meal or a tease. Even Cyrus would have been a welcomed sight; there to berate her for showing her tears, her Amazonian temper flaring up as a result. Yet all she had was Trafalgar, the very man that had stolen her from her family in the first place.

"Are you in pain?" he asked her, worried she was beginning to show signs of rejecting the transfusion.

"I'm fine!" she cried out, turning her face away from him in shame that he'd seen her tears.

Law sighed and grabbed the rolled-up blanket he had left at his side, straightening the fabric out before he tossed it over her. The thin sheet fluttered gently around her curves and fell across her face, granting her a temporary shield from his sight. It was the best he could do to give her privacy in her current state. All the while his hand continued to squeeze the pump, keeping a continuous flow of blood running between them.

It took her some time before the hiccupping sobs began to calm, but when they did, Law decided to speak up. "Why don't you tell me about that devil fruit of yours. Pass the time."

She sniffled from under the blanket and scowled. That was the last thing that she wanted to talk about with him, but she supposed she owed him for saving her life.

"Ishi Ishi no Mi…" she started and stopped as she tried to figure out what to say. "What exactly am I supposed to tell you?"

"You only recently ate that fruit, am I right?" she didn't answer. "that's what I thought. Your fruit means will, so that light, what do you know about it?"

Slowly the blanket was pulled down so she could look at him. "If I can push my will out, I… _guess_ , I create that light." She sounded uncertain, that she knew, but truly she had no idea. Her assumptions were basically based entirely off conjecture, an idea or opinion only created by a lack of information, a lack of facts.

Law nodded in understanding, realizing probably better than her that her devil fruit allowed its user to wield one's own willpower as a weapon—or as a defense, if that golden shield she had created earlier was any indication. Likely, that meant her ability derived not from her physical energy ( _'though it had to play a hand, somehow,'_ he thought), but from the spirit within. So, if she could theoretically summon the strength to fight, her power would respond—but that would have to go in the other direction as well. A double-edged sword. He wondered if he could test his theory, if he could kill her willpower and therefore her abilities in a one-on-one fight. Well, it would have to wait.

"So, where did you get your hands on that fruit?"

The look on her face gave him the real answer even as she lied, fingers entangling into her bangs nervously. "Our last visit here…"

He let her keep her lie and reached out to check her temperature with his hand, tucking his digits underneath her bangs to get to her forehead. Though her skin was still soaked with sweat, her temperature was decreasing and he was pleased to see that as she spoke to him, her energy was picking back up.

Law quit flexing the pump in his hand then, and gently disconnected the IV's. First from himself and then her. Grabbing the alcoholic cleaning solution from the floor and spilling a few drops onto his thumb, he then rubbed the concoction over the crook of her elbow, cleaning away the little pricks of blood created from retrieving the needle.

"You're done?" she asked as he picked up a roll of medical gauze.

"For now, we'll see if you need more later. I just need to wrap your injuries and then you can rest. Sit up for me."

Pressing his shirt, that he had allowed her to keep, against her breasts as she moved to sit up, Nyiji adjusted herself until she faced him. It had been the same position that he had forced her into when he'd stitched her wounds closed, but felt different now that she knew he no longer required full access to her body. When his fingers touched her, her face burned but she had nowhere to look to hide. Working professionally and quickly, Law wrapped her body in gauze, starting with her arms before moving onto winding the cloth around her stomach. He worked like a man that was well-versed in caring for others, the epitome of a Doctor.

Making sure to add a little extra padding around her middle, since it was the worst of her wounds, Law then moved onto the lacerations across her chest. "Tilt your chin up." She obeyed, face and ears flushing when she felt his fingers move down her shoulder to press the gauze at her side. Holding it so that it would stay in place over her breast, he swept the bandage across her back before it was ready to be adjusted. "Can you move the shirt for a moment? This needs to be tight."

"Keep your eyes closed this time, then!" she snapped, looking away from him as she pulled the shirt away with little hesitance.

Though she complained, it was clear that she would allow him to do as he wished without needing him to obey. She wasn't sure when she had become comfortable enough with him to allow him to see her in such a vulnerable state, but at some point, it had become needless to hide herself when he was simply treating her injuries.

Law smirked at her, prodding her with a tease: "Can't work with my eyes closed."

The wrapping moved up her back and over again until Law ripped it from the roll of cloth and tied it in place at her rib cage. He let her slip his shirt back onto her small frame when he was done, respectfully turning away to begin piling the medical supplies back together. He felt tired, rubbing at his eyes now that he was finished treating his patient, but there was still more to be done. The silver suitcase shined under the last of the light in the chamber and he decided now was the perfect time to take a peek at the contents. He couldn't deny that it had been driving him up a wall, waiting to find out what Nyiji had been carting around all day. Maybe he would even get lucky and there would be room inside for them to stash the medical supplies, on top of whatever surprise awaited him. Flipping the locks open, the hatch didn't even need to be lifted before a stack of papers tried to force their way out onto the floor.

Surprised by the sheer amount spilling from the suitcase, Law struggled with his armful of medical supplies before finally getting a handle on the overflow. Squinting at each page as he returned them back to their home, Law called over his shoulder: "What's this?"

Nyiji glanced at the case and leaned forward to eyeball the contents. "The butler was trying to take all of that while the building was burning… I… thought whatever was in it, was worth… keeping. And you'd said that you wanted information from Jiyan…" his eyes turned onto her as she paused in her speech before continuing with a small apologetic smile. "And I'm sure you weren't able to get what you wanted from the factory… so, maybe it's in there?"

"Maybe."

Tossing the medical supplies into the case, none too gently, Law sealed them in with the unknown papers as he pressed the lid closed and secured the locks. Kneeling over the closed case, he chanced a look towards Nyiji as she settled back into the dirt and pulled the thin sheeted blanket over her body. Tucked up underneath her chin, she looked meek and childish. The blanket really wasn't that large either, but with her shorter stature, it seemed to be working well enough to cover her. Her eyelids were flickering, weighed down against her will. A sure sign that she was about to pass out again. This time though he took pity on her. Her skin had brightened up considerably and the risks of any rejection symptoms were fading from his mind. A few hours sleep would probably do them both some good anyway.

"Get some rest, Puppy-ya," he advised. A smirk crossed over his mouth when she blinked herself awake, becoming a little more alert by the sound of his voice. Repeating himself, he urged her to settle back down with a softer command. "Sleep."

Settling down right where he had been sitting while treating her, Law took his own advice and focused on falling asleep. Night passed rather quickly from there, a complete darkness taking over the cavern as the sun was replaced by the moon.

* * *

He was the first to wake, roused from a light beaming directly into his eyes. "Fuck sakes," he cursed as he rolled out of the sunlight. That was a terrible way to wake up—almost as bad as being woken up by Mason's frantic screaming about someone not using disinfectant.

Rubbing a hand roughly over his face, Law suppressed an audible groan as he took stock of the soreness in his body. Unclenching his hand with a few flexes to work out the muscles, he looked over to see that Nyiji was still slumbering away. Straight and dead as a board, in the same position she'd fallen asleep in—he'd have to remedy that. With a stretch, he got to his feet and collected his nodachi and the case off the ground, before he woke her with a light toe to her side. She swatted at him at first before finally rolling awake, her irritated expression changing only after she realized _who_ was behind waking her.

"Its time to go, we need to get back to the wall before sundown."

"Why before sundown?" she asked through a yawn.

"My men won't wait much longer than that before they try to storm the castle," he answered as he turned to face the numerous paths spread out around them. "Which of these routes will get us close enough? I don't understand the language used."

"It's an old miner's tongue," Nyiji answered and stiffly sat up. After examining each label at the side of every entrance, she paused and pointed out one she had used before. "This one leads directly to the river, runs straight into the water wheel… but it won't be possible now."

Law raised an eyebrow at Nyiji's unintentional slip. He long suspected there had been a delay between her escape and her procurement of the devil fruit. Now he had his confirmation. Since Nyiji and the other survivors likely used the water to swim out to their freedom, she must have obtained the devil fruit after her escape. An impossible choice for either of them now, at any rate.

"Does it fill with water at any point?" she nodded in response to his question. "Then what are our options?"

Envisioning a mental map of Jiyan that highlighted every tunnel that ran from the central cavern, Nyiji traveled down each path in her mind as she tried to recall where each passageway ended. Some of the tunnels were collapsed or filled in from years of disuse, while a good number of the others ran further up the mountainside. As that was the opposite direction they needed to go, she dismissed them for another option. There were two other trails that were viable, however neither would get them anywhere close to the wall before sundown.

"How far does that… dome-thingy of yours reach?" She asked him while gesticulating with her hands, trying to imitate the swirling vortex that appeared in the man's hands whenever he called upon his abilities.

"Dome thingy?" Law teased her, grinning when she flushed and turned away from him to disguise her embarrassment. "It varies, but the larger I make them, the easier it will be to spot. Especially now that the enemy knows what to look for, I would rather keep it as small as possible."

Flipping her braid over her shoulder to hang between her shoulder-blades, the ends swayed against the back of her thighs as Nyiji stopped in front of an entrance. Her fingers tracing a plaque written with the old tongue on the wall. The lettering was faded in some places but the deep grooves with which they had been carved made deciphering the path fairly easy. Down this tunnel that had been heavily lined with boards to keep its structure in tact, they would find the housing district. The district itself had been abandoned after the miners had fled the island, or so the stories went, but it was on the lowest level of the mountain and therefore much closer to the wall than any other option available.

Glancing back towards the dark Captain, curious about his input, Nyiji asked: "Do we need to be at the exact spot we came from? Are you able to contact your crew to meet us at a different location?"

Frowning, Law gestured to his empty pockets. "Where would I fit a den-den?"

"Well, it was worth asking. I don't know what you're—" cutting herself off midsentence before she unintentionally complimented the man, Nyiji turned her back to him before she could witness the wicked grin on his face. He certainly seemed to appreciate her stutters and slips. "Never mind."

"Even if I could contact them," he carried on, ignoring her to answer the earlier question, "I can't see through the wall. I'm not running the risk of dropping into the ocean for a miscalculation. Another location is out of the question."

She hummed a little before her fingers tapped against the plaque she'd been standing in front of, decision made. "Then we won't make it by sundown, but this way will take us to the other side of the island, near an old housing district… I'm not sure if it's occupied or not, but there is a lot of coverage that we can utilize until we meet the river."

"Let's go then." He moved to walk past her, ready to head down the tunnel.

Practically jumping in surprise, Nyiji cried out before he could get too far away from her. "I can carry the case!"

He glanced at her from over his shoulder, face impassive and tattooed jolly roger grinning on his bare back. "It's fine, I have it."

 _'Fuck,'_ she thought as she swallowed and moved reluctantly after him, _'without that case, what guarantee do I have of my own safety now?'_

Voices whispered and chased after her, ready to respond to her insecurities like a lit match to gasoline, unwilling to give her the chance to get a handle on herself. _'He'll kill you, leave you behind, you know.'_

 _'You'll die here.'_

Fighting to keep the ethereal voices at bay as the two pirates made their way down the tunnel, hours passed, revealing a perfectly rich purple sky as they finally escaped. A light drizzle of rain was falling underneath thick grey clouds, washing away the sepia filter that had been canvasing the area ever since the mansion had begun to burn. Briefly, Nyiji wondered if that meant the flames were finally under control or even put out altogether, hours ago. Had the rain done it, or had the island's occupants? If it was the latter, then likely they had even found the butlers body. She shuddered and tried to return her focus to her surroundings rather than the morbid and dangerous thoughts.

They walked through a vast forest of thick trees decorated with large pine cones that hung dangerously overhead, ready to fall with a single tug from gravity to meet the roots that were buried deep beneath the ground. Each root lumped up to create tiny hills in the earth.

Houses began to pop up within the tree line, nearly overlooked due to the unstained wood they'd been crafted from, only to become glaringly obvious by the gigantic gaping holes that riddled them. It looked as if they had been peppered by cannon fire.

Looking around Law's shoulder at the buildings, Nyiji mumbled: "What happened here?"

"You would know better than I," he answered her.

 _"He's right you know."_ Her head whipped around, seeking out another face that wasn't really there.

 _'They're not really here, they're not real,'_ she thought to herself, willing the voices to leave her alone lest her grimaces give her discomfort away.

Leaving the female behind, Law headed towards one of the log-stacked homes, peeking his head through one of the swiss-cheese shaped holes before suddenly withdrawing. His face had transformed back into that cold façade and he looked at Nyiji with suppressed concern. "Stay there, Puppy-ya. Let's go a different way."

"What? Why?"

He didn't have the heart to tell her about what he had seen within the cabin. When Nyiji made a move to step around him and check for herself, Law held an arm out in front of her, forcing her to pause before they made contact. Effectively blocking her path towards the home, he advised her while trying to downplay her curiosity.

"It's better if you don't know. Let's go around."

Faced with a stern expression and another sweeping gesture, Nyiji eventually acquiesced and pointed out a path that would give them a wide berth of the small district, letting Law take the lead afterwards. She still couldn't help but cast nervous glances behind her at the diminishing houses. The trees thickened around them, growing denser alongside untended grass the farther they walked. It must have been over two-hundred yards away from the district, two-hundred _unnecessary_ yards when Law saw the first of the bodies littering the forest. Strangers lied in a swamp of red, some missing various body parts that had found their way into the highest limbs of the trees around them, while others spilled their innards throughout the grass. Glassy eyes of the dead stared at the two pirates, reflecting expressions of grief, panic and horror.

"Th—that's!" he heard a sharp inhaling gasp and then a thump as her body sunk to the earth a second later.

Turning to look at the female, Law found her staring at the face of an older man missing half of his skin. The meat appeared to have been torn away, leaving traces of an animal's fur along his cheekbones. "I knew—but, but look!" she wailed as she reached a hand tenderly out to trace over the man's forehead, brushing back locks of grey hair.

 _'They're all dead… I knew this, but… if I hadn't left…'_

Grimacing, Law quickly knelt beside the young woman and grabbed a hold of her cheeks, forcing her to look away from the scene. "Puppy-ya," her eyes were darting wildly around them in panic, barely focusing even as the distance between them decreased. He had hoped to avoid this situation, it was clear that she knew some of these bodies personally, no doubt victims from her first visit to the island.

"Close your eyes," he ordered as sternly as he could manage.

A stench that he was familiar with wafted through the area, revolting and lingering. It carried with it traumatic memories that Law pushed away, he had enough to deal with at the moment without adding to the girl's problems. She was still shaking in his hands, on the verge of a panic attack that he had seen coming. He wished he had grabbed something from the cabinets that could have helped her now. He wasn't at all prepared for this.

Reaching down and grabbing her hands, Law slapped her palms against the bare flesh of his chest and returned to holding her cheeks—she at least responded to that, appearing to finally notice him once she'd made physical contact with him.

Instructing her slowly, he made sure to hold eye contact with her as he spoke: "You're going to close your eyes now. Keep your hands on me and we'll get through this. I'll lead you through."

"I—I can't!" she gasped, choking on the limited air being dragged into her lungs. Her family was around her, spilled out onto the earth for the crows, how could she leave them _again?_

Without a second thought, Law grabbed the bottom of the shirt Nyiji had borrowed and ripped, tearing off a stretch that left her midriff bare. _'He would miss that shirt.'_ Roping the fabric in his hands, he tied the cloth around her eyes and secured it at the back of her head. Making sure afterwards that she wouldn't be able to see from any angle. She gingerly touched the fabric that now blinded her from the scene around her and jumped when she felt him grab her hand and return it to his skin.

"Keep your hands on me, Puppy-ya. Follow me now, come on."

Blind to her surroundings but not the whispers, Nyiji clung to him as he helped her stand once more. Tracks of tears slipped down her cheeks, stinging at the facial wounds she had earned in her earlier battle, but they barely compared to the pounding headache at her temples. Beneath her sweaty palms and the muscles in his moving body, she felt a steady heartbeat and sought comfort in it even as a tattooed hand clasped over her dainty wrist and guided her to hold onto the man's back. Though she couldn't see the tattooed jolly roger beneath her palms, she was sure that it was still grinning at her, mocking her for her very public display of weakness.

The two began to clumsily move together and with his assistance, she was able to make it over the terrain with only a few stumbles. Whenever she thought her hands would slip from his body, Law would stop walking and reach a hand back to touch her, brushing her side or her arm, before encouraging her to keep following his directions. He talked a little more frequently, lying about how they were almost through the forest; _Nearly there. Just about now. A little more, Puppy-ya. Just keep walking._

 _Keep walking._

Without a clear direction to head towards, Law found it difficult to lead his blind guide through the forest, but it was clear that until they escaped the carnage, he would need to do just that until she could take over. The forest looked like a battlefield where a very one-sided war had taken place, leaving traces of the Rook Pirates behind as the only casualties. It was clear that the pirates had been taken by surprise, as most of their injuries appeared to be taken defensively or scattered upon their backs. Likely they had never even seen the attack until it was upon them. Unable to stop for a thorough examination of the bodies to find a cause of death, Law could only make assumptions based off the injures he could briefly glimpse. There were gunshot wounds on the earliest bodies, easily accredited to the island's residents, but stranger, were the injuries that appeared to be inflicted upon the pirates by wild animals.

"Puppy-ya?" Law spoke up when he noticed a particularly mangled corpse covered in teeth marks and talon-sized gashes. "Is there wildlife on the island?"

She stuttered to reply, "N-no."

He paused, hesitant to continue walking while he tried to process her answer. Letting his eyes roam over a corpse for a long moment, he finally noticed a deformed limb of a furred animal tucked beneath the body. Severed at the shoulder, long and large enough to belong to a bear. Law stepped towards it and nudged it with a toe. Off the top of his head, he couldn't think of anything—or anyone—capable enough to tear a limb from a bear. Brought out of his thoughts by the feel of Nyiji's nails digging into his back, he realized that he hadn't said anything to her since he had stopped moving.

Clearing his throat, he repeated the only comforting lies he could offer her: "I can see the end, Puppy-ya. Not much farther."

She accepted the lie and allowed him to help her move over a short wall of bodies. He lifted her by the hips to do this, so she wouldn't be any the wiser to what she was near, before placing her back on the ground. Readjusting her hands on his body, Law double checked the bindings over her eyes before he urged them to keep moving.

 _'Had she seen this carnage up close before?'_ he wondered before dismissing the thought. _'If she had, she wouldn't have escaped whatever had mowed these pirates down.'_

"Tell me about how you learned to draw," he suddenly asked her, hoping that it would not only take her mind off of the gory scene, but his own. He didn't want to think about dead white limbs right now.

"D-draw?" she stuttered; her voice so quiet he had to strain to hear her. "I—I always drew as a child."

"Did anyone teach you?" he asked.

Nyiji swallowed the saliva thickening in her throat, she was beginning to feel an overwhelming nausea. "No, I—I taught myself—drawing for my father before he passed. Then—we had crayons, so I kept at it."

"Crayons?"

"At the orphanage," she replied and he felt her fingers flex into his skin once again. "Alistair bought me f-f—finer supplies after I joined."

Law carefully had them side step a half-done decapitation. "What did you like working with the most?"

"W—working… _with_?" her mind was slipping, trying to upkeep with the unknown terror around her and his baffling questions. "water c-colors. I make a me—mess."

Law breathed a sigh of relief when the carnage was finally behind them, but it would still be a way's longer before he would remove Nyiji's blindfold. He had to be certain first that it would be out of sight for her. "Do you like to draw anything in particular?"

She took a little longer to get the words out. "p-p-port—portraits."

He chuckled a little. "I really didn't expect that to be your answer."

"W-what did you think i-it was?"

"Honestly? Doesn't every navigator prefer nautical charts?" he thought about his own furry navigator then, drawing absolutely terrible maps that always made him smile. Bepo loved trying.

"No!" her voice came out sharp and she flexed her fingers, suddenly unsure about keeping her hands on him. "w-what kind of c-c-captain do you think you are…"

He looked at her from over his shoulder and grinned though she couldn't see it. "A terrible one. Good news, we can take off that blindfold now. Can you handle it?"

Nyiji pulled her hands away from him and pressed them between her breasts, feeling her heart hammering in her rib cage as she thought about what her surroundings would look like once the yellow material was removed from her eyes. Reaching out and untying the cloth, Law held the torn piece of his shirt in his hands as her eyes readjusted to the surrounding light.

"Do you know our bearings?" he asked her, making sure to keep eye contact even as her silver eyes fluttered around. The area was familiar to her and thankfully, its lush plant-life was free of the dead.

"Yes, if we head east now the river won't be much farther… then we just need to cross it and keep s-straight."

Law looked in the mentioned directions and scratched at the back of his neck. Night had truly fallen, making the rocky path ahead of them dangerous, but there wasn't anywhere to stop for a rest. They would need to continue on through the night if there was any chance of them returning to the Polar Tang before his men jumped the gun. Patting his spotted jeans to shake off the lingering fatigue, he tried to block out the aches in his body and press on. It didn't help that they were both working on empty stomachs, though the sight he had just left behind didn't do much for striking up an appetite.

Starting up a conversation to help distract them once more, Law asked her: "Whose portraits have you done?"

She looked at him curiously as they walked. "As in, have I painted anyone you would know?"

He rolled a shoulder and tipped his head to the side. "Is that your way of telling me you have paintings of Penguin?"

Her cheeks burned and filled with air, rounding out like a chipmunk's filled cheek-pouches. "Of course not!"

"What? I won't tell him. Our little secret." He winked at her.

Nyiji paused and stared with bewilderment by his transformation. For someone that could be cold enough to starve and kidnap a woman, to be calculating and deceptive for secrets all his own, and manipulative, Trafalgar Law could also be kind. It was more than a little shocking to realize that he even had the capacity, much less expended those traits on her. It was strange to see him showing such a playful side that she bet rarely ever came out for those outside of his crew. Perhaps that was what had instilled such a loyalty in Penguin.

A little embarrassed over being teased, Nyiji turned her face from him and tried to refocus her thoughts on something else only to find them constantly returning to the man walking at her side. On top of her amazement for his display of emotions, she also found herself jealous over his composure. He had spent hours tied up in sea stone chains showing no sign of discomfort, as if showing any form of weakness was something impossible for him to do.

"I painted the Sh-shichibukai—the warlords," she finally answered him, "Only their wanted posters though—it's not s-so easy to see them in person after all…"

After her comments, his eyes darted away and Law let the shade of his hat droop to conceal his expression. All he could picture was that terrible grinning face being painted by the woman behind him. "It's better that way—to keep your distance," he said after a short hesitation.

Silence fell between them then that was punctuated by the sound of flowing water. Ahead the river appeared, bending around a ridge before carrying on its path through the middle of the island. Across the wide gap of water, Law could see the distinctly burnt and dead trees that indicated they'd reached the familiar locale. The other half of the island greatly contrasted the abundant flora around them. Keeping close to their side of the river, Nyiji eventually interrupted their walk to indicate it would be safe to cross over.

Stepping close to the waters edge, Law summoned a blue spherical room from his hand, forcing the dome to expand until it reached the other side. It was a struggle and another reminder that he was truly straining himself now, but it would have to be enough to get them back to safety. About to reach an arm out for Nyiji to join him, he stifled his surprise when she stepped into him and waited for the teleport, completely nonchalant with their closeness.

 _"Shambles."_

A flicker, barely a second and a blink and they were on the other side of the river. Quick to separate from him, Nyiji hurried towards the collection of burnt trees where they would have a good amount of cover should anyone be searching for them still.

"This way!" she called when he was slow to join her.

The path was familiar though they were far from the water wheel. Ahead of them the sun was already rising in the sky, growing with the wall as it expanded towards the clouds. It was always there, but bolder now. Just seeing it again was twisting the pit in her stomach, sending shivers down her spine as her fears returned.

 _"You think he won't leave you behind soon as you deliver him to safety?"_

Nyiji kept from looking at her side as she marched fiercely onwards. _'I won't die here,'_ she reminded herself and heard the voice laugh in reply.

"Are you ready?" Law asked her, startling her from her thoughts.

"What?" Nyiji gaped at him, eyes wide like circular coins.

Glancing at the traces in the dirt from where she had fallen and flailed about previously, she realized that they had arrived at their destination without her notice. Shaking off her stupor and wiping her sweaty palms against her shorts, she nodded and watched him as he stepped closer to her. Though it all happened quickly, for her it occurred as if in slow motion. She felt a dreadful terror as he moved into her personal space and feared he was only misleading her, pretending to take her along before dashing her hopes. But then his arm was slipping around her and the metal of the suitcase was being pressed into her lower back, freezing her body.

The cold stopped her thoughts short, quelling her fears long enough for her to hear him call out _"Room"_ that summoned another blue sphere to grow and surround them. His hand shook as he willed the sphere to grow, bigger and bigger until it was raised half-way through the wall's full height. He held it steady for a few minutes until he was certain that he'd given his crewmates enough time to surface upon his signal.

Opening her mouth to ask if he was ok, the words died on her tongue. Law's face was pinched in concentration, amber eyes glossy as sweat collected on his brow. It was clear he was struggling. Swallowing her pity, Nyiji fisted her hands against his chest just as he finally took command of his fruit with a small cry of: _"Shambles!"_

The deck of the Polar Tang appeared beneath their feet, still raining water over the sides, out through the gaps in the railing. Voices were crying out from behind the thick steel door, belonging to Law's crew as they rushed out to meet him, eager to make sure their Captain was okay. Looking down at Nyiji still in his arms, Law found her already staring up at him, her attention locked.

"We're alive?" she asked, as if she didn't believe it.

* * *

 _Author's note; Wanted to give everyone a heads up that next update might be delayed. I have a sick kitty with some vet appointments coming up tomorrow, so depending on her health I might not be able to focus on editing the next chapter as quickly as I would hope to._

 _I wanted to thank Bwlchck, Sarge1130, embossross and bakagirl101 as well for their reviews. I know I already sent PMs. but wanted to express my thanks again! And also towards everyone that has continued adding this story to their favorites and follows list. :)  
You're all fantastic!_


	9. Chapter Nine

After his crew had gotten out most of their greetings, Law had sent them back inside the submarine to return to their work stations to prepare for an immediate descent. Though the wall still loomed behind them, albeit a great distance away, the group was extremely nonchalant about the danger. Nyiji trailed behind them as they re-entered the submarine, keeping a few paces behind the group and their leader. A strange sense of relief flooded her as she walked the increasingly familiar metal corridor once again. The men were still conversing with Trafalgar, expressing the worries they had carried when he had been half a day late to return. It was clear, even as an outsider, that his men cared deeply for their Captain's well-being.

Coming to a stop just outside the entrance to his chambers, Law nodded for the small group to carry on ahead. "Send Penguin up with today's lunch, would you? Two sets," he called after them.

One of the men waved back in reply as he headed down the steps to the second floor and vanished from their sights. Law kicked the door open then and stepped inside his room, discarding the hat from his head onto the coffee table as he made his way to the bathroom in the back. Nyiji noticed straight away that he had casually left the suitcase and his sword at the front door. As tempting as it was, with him so close she didn't dare investigate the case. Pulling her eyes away from the metal box, she glanced towards the bathroom. He had kept the door open as he moved about inside so she could see him as he collected a cloth from beneath the sink, wetting it to give himself a quick wipe down before moving out of her line of sight. It felt like some kind of devious test.

Shutting the heavy door behind her, she gave up on the suitcase and moved towards the set of couches to rest. She had rightfully assumed from his lunch order that he expected her to stay within his chambers. After eating he would probably send her back to the small medical closet, but for now, she would take advantage of his generosity. The submarine was vibrating and groaning, shaking beneath her feet as it began to sink back into the ocean's recesses. In the corner of her eye she saw the suitcase, shining silver, fall over onto its side from the motions. She scowled.

Law reappeared at the bathroom door, holding a wet towel against his throat. He looked relatively cleaner now yet still in desperate need of a shower. "You'll need to clean your wounds. You can use my bath while we wait."

Nyiji's eyes flicked towards him, bright and silver and filled with confusion. She was quite the sight still clothed in his ruined shirt, blood and numerous wrappings. Getting over her racing thoughts, she finally asked: "Is there a lock?"

A little mocking laugh escaped him as he shook his head and walked towards her. "There is." Holding a hand out for her, Law gently helped her up to her feet before waving her towards the bathroom without another thought. "There are towels beside the tub. I'll find you something else to wear while you're in there."

He walked away from her, barely acknowledging her fears before assuaging them. Ducking into the room, Nyiji was careful to shut the door as softly as possible so it made no noise before twisting the lock to the right. Immediately she checked to make sure that the knob was secured before she felt comfortable enough to turn and face the room. It was smaller than the submarine's communal bathroom, which made sense considering how many men used the shared space while this room's use was exclusive to one. To her left a grand bathtub sat, large enough to house the six-foot, three inches of man outside and deep enough that she wasn't quite sure how to climb in without making a fool of herself.

Bending at the waist to reach the bottom of the basin, Nyiji fumbled to find a stopper for the drain before she toyed with the faucets for a more desirable heat. Amidst the pain in her body and the wounds that hadn't had enough time to close yet, she was relieved to find out that her body struggled less with standing water in comparison to what poured from the faucet. As the tub filled, she turned to face a mirror that hung over the porcelain sink and recalled that behind it there was a stash of numerous bottles filled with medicine. She wondered if he was unconcerned about leaving them unsupervised, or if he hadn't considered the possibility that she might delve into it. Or maybe he actually trusted her.

A soft knock at the door drew her away from the sink. "Yes?" she called through the door, suddenly feeling on edge inside Trafalgar's quarters.

"I have a change of clothes for you," his voice came from the other side of the door.

Swiftly the door was unlocked and a set of clothes exchanged hands before she had resealed herself inside the room. Before she disrobed, Nyiji looked over what he had brought her. It appeared to be more pieces from his personal wardrobe. Another long-sleeved black shirt with his jolly roger embossed on the back in white and a pair of spotted jeans that she would have to roll up in order to create a proper fit. Beggars can't be choosers, but that didn't stop her from feeling irritated that she was once again wearing another pirate crew's jolly roger on her person. With a sigh she set the clothes aside and moved over to the filling tub, all while shedding her clothes. Beside the basin there were fresh towels, all neatly folded and ready for use on a little shelf and beneath it was a little hamper prepared for dirty laundry that she stashed her ruined attire into.

Climbing into the tub proved to be even more difficult than she had first assumed, and she fell in with a loud embarrassing splash. A little removable showerhead that sat on a golden hook at the front of the basin was her saving grace as she gripped it for support. If she hadn't caught it, she might have very well drowned. Re-emerging from the water, Nyiji let out a little noise of frustration and twisted the faucets until the running water had stopped. Once the water had stilled around her and her body began to relax, it became easier to withstand the effects. _'This must be why he owns a bathtub in the first place.'_

Untying her hair from its braid, she worked out knots and let the surrounding water naturally stain pink as her movements caused the caked blood to rinse off of her. "This is such a ridiculous situation," she muttered to the spyglass. It sat on the floor by the tub, gently shining underneath the light.

Her hair quickly soaked up the water, becoming heavy and thick so it fell flat against her skin in the water. The ends of her hair floated and swam around her, its darkness accentuated by the pink blood. She hadn't thought to take the bandages off of her body before getting in so they quickly absorbed the moisture before becoming slack around her, eventually pulling away from her body completely.

"Do you think I'll ever get to see them again?" she voiced her fears as she removed the wraps while thinking about her crewmates. The spyglass didn't answer her, but she could imagine her father anyway—smiling at her with that big gigantic grin of his behind a pair of thick spectacles. He was always so optimistic, that much she could remember. "Do you think…. they'll ever want to see me?"

Nyiji sunk deeper into the bath until the water level reached just underneath her nose, breathing slowly as she let her thoughts travel towards her abandoned crew. She hadn't wanted to think of them while Jiyan loomed over her but with the island vanishing into the distance there was nothing else she could distract herself with. Foremost in her thoughts was Alistair, her Captain. Would he forgive her actions? She had left the Rook Pirates behind, albeit unintentionally, just to give information to an outsider in the hopes of protecting him. It had earned her a week long stay in the submarine's brig and a return trip to hell but she had endured, all for the sake of Rook Alistair. _'But would he see it that way?'_

Even well intentioned, her actions were a serious offense. Biting down on her knuckles in an attempt to suppress the tears prickling at her eyes, she felt smothered by these thoughts. It wasn't uncommon amongst pirates to betray one another if the profit was high enough or if a Captain had lost the faith of his crew, but Alistair had never done anything to sway her loyalty and Nyiji was not a traitor. Having been raised by her Captain's very own hands, she'd _lived_ for him. But then there were words whispered harshly against her ear about the thing's she had heard at Jiyan. _'He sold you.'_ She wanted to dismiss the very notion and bury it alongside the rest of her morbid fears but she couldn't shake it, for whenever she tried, her brain fired back with a very honest question: _'If you returned to Alistair and asked him, would he tell you the truth? Would he even forgive you?'_

When she made mistakes as a child there had been nothing to fear from Alistair. Usually the half-giant would just laugh it off, smiling kindly at her as she stood proudly by his side, no taller than his knees. Any trouble she brought him was dealt with and forgotten, but that had been years ago. Back in a period of time before he'd established a different personality meant to instill fear and unquestionable loyalty in his subordinates. A hiccup escaped and Nyiji bit into her lips to silence the noise. The last thing she wanted was for Trafalgar to hear her crying in his bathroom.

Deciding she had spent enough time sulking, Nyiji set about cleaning herself. In a tray connected to the side of the bathtub she found a series of bottles, a small white hand-towel and fresh razor blades. Considering who the towel belonged to, she ignored the bundle of scratchy fabric in favor of a bottle of bodywash. Further darkening the water as her flesh was scrubbed raw and pink. The stitches that ran all over her body throbbed painfully from the activity but otherwise kept closed. When that was done, she began the long task of scooping up her hair and piling it atop her head as she scanned the bottles for a useable soap. _'Of course, everything is going to smell like him though…'_ she thought as she wiggled and knocked over bottles carelessly.

Some of the bottles splashed into the water to join her, bobbing in the water as they floated. They were returned only when she was finished soaping up her black locks. The submarine groaned loudly as it swerved, causing bath water to spill over the side of the tub. Nyiji clung to the basin's side and let out a squeak as the vessel righted itself once again. Her father's spyglass rolled along the floor before stopping at the bottom of the sink's cabinet.

"Sorry dad," she called out, worried it might have been damaged. "I'll hurry up."

Finishing the rest of the bathing process using Trafalgar's shampoo and razors, Nyiji left the water to swirl down the drain as she climbed out and rescued the spyglass. In one hand, she rotated it to confirm that the object was still unblemished and peered through the sight to confirm that its internal workings were centered properly.

"Looks all good."

Her reflection caught her attention then, making her frown at the visible thrashing she had undergone. Bruises, cuts and stitches were prominently displayed over her face and torso and a deep purple bruise had blossomed across her stomach, creating a wide vortex of color around the stitches there. Arms a yellow and green, nearly matched the intensity of the bruises on the rest of her body. Though she had been awake during Trafalgar's treatments, she hadn't been aware of how bad it had actually been. Gently, Nyiji ran a thumb over her forearm and wondered if it would scar, if she would be left with a permanent reminder of Jiyan. The longer she stared, the more disgusted she felt. Having had enough of her own company, she dressed and left the bathroom.

She found Law behind his desk near the bathroom door going over paperwork, and offered a small timid wave when he tilted his head up towards her to greet her with a nod. Across the room standing by the coffee table was Penguin who immediately stopped talking upon her entrance. A bright shade of pink took over his face as he took in her appearance, dressed in his Captain's clothes.

"Nyiji! You're—are you…well—you're here!"

Tucking strands of her hair behind an ear, she nervously shifted on her bare feet, cold seeping into her body from below. "I am. Hi Penguin."

Taking a few steps away from the couch, Penguin moved instinctively towards her before pausing when he noticed the way she flinched and backed away. His eyes darted towards his Captain immediately, curiosity blooming as he wondered what the two had gone through. Choosing not to voice his thoughts yet, Penguin stuttered out: "I—uh—well, I brought some food for you…. _two_. Cap and I were just—uh, talking…"

Watching the scene unfold from the comfort of his desk chair, practically a background character to the tension between the two pirates, Law arched his brow with curiosity and relaxed into his seat. It was obvious that the sight of Nyiji's bruised and beaten face had startled his mechanic as Penguin couldn't seem to peel his eyes away from her. No doubt, his friend was trying to decipher what had happened by gauging the visible injuries on her. Honestly, Law was just glad that he couldn't see the rest of her body beneath the clothes or the mechanic might have charged over to her without thinking. Nyiji's reaction to Penguin however was the most surprising. The two shifted on their feet, unable to break eye contact.

Deciding to break the tension, Law spoke up and directed his words towards her: "Why don't you sit, Puppy-ya. Eat if you can."

Broken from her staring match, Nyiji headed towards the couch and took up a seat at the farthest point. Curling up against the arm, feet tucked beneath her body, she tried not to awkwardly look at either of them and give away her discomfort. Setup on the table were two serving trays with large bowls filled with a watery stew. Chunks of cubed meat floated to the surface and her stomach rumbled.

"I—uhm, had Mason whip up extra. In case you wanted more," Penguin told her, still nervously adjusting the brim of his hat as he avoided looking directly at her.

"Thank you," Nyiji replied as she picked up a spoon and dug into the bowl, draining the broth in one bite. It was under seasoned but at least the meat was tender, bringing a small smile to her lips as she thought about Mason's abilities improving.

"I wanted to ask you some questions, if you're feeling up to it, Puppy-ya," Law spoke up as he got up from his desk with a handful of papers.

Nyiji looked up from the stew to eyeball the papers in his hands. She hadn't expected him to share anything with her but she recognized the parchment as the same sheets they'd brought back from Jiyan. The suitcase sat opened on his desk but she resisted looking at it. "What questions?" she asked warily.

 _'What more of her could he possibly want?'_

He handed her the papers and took a seat on the opposite couch, sending a look towards his mechanic to join him. Penguin took a seat beside his Captain and watched Nyiji as she set the bowl down to look through the pages with both hands. He frowned as he noticed tiny cuts all over her palms, angry and red. He couldn't begin to imagine what had happened to them behind that great wall but it was obvious she had gone through the ringer. While his Captain looked relatively well-off, dressed in new clean clothes without a mark on his person, she was in such an opposing state.

"Do any of those names look familiar to you?" Law asked after she had stalled on a piece of blue parchment, eyes quavering over the hand scrawled notes.

She didn't answer him at first, for everything had become white noise to her ears. _'Cyrus… what had happened to her?'_ her mind was racing.

"W-what exactly is this?" she tossed the paper onto the table as if it had burned her. "that couldn't have come from there!" It had to have been forged.

Glancing curiously between the two, Penguin leaned forward and tentatively reached for the paper. A single nod from his Captain told him it was okay to peruse so he quickly picked up the sheet and examined its contents. At first glance it appeared to be someone's private journal with annotations scrawled along the side as the author added in extra comments but upon closer inspection, he realized it was a monitoring record. Squinting at the pages, dread began to sink in and he understood why Nyiji had reacted so poorly.

 _Current Subject; B Cyrus, female, age approximated twenty-seven years. Genetic tests show relation to Amazonian tribes yet subject does not confirm origins. Regardless this should not impede my current research. After initial testing has been completed, we will administer test samples and monitor subject's responses._

 _1400\. June 06. Subject flatlined from tests, this was the third failure. While one of the rats managed to resuscitate her, I believe the issues will repeat until we find a way to suppress the subject's immune system. I am infuriated by these delays—dealing with such low-quality genetics when there is another perfect specimen so close at hand. Rook continues to refuse all negotiations for her so I am forced to continue work with this subspecies!_

 _1800\. June 06. Added an antigen to the subject's current round. I believe this will reduce the rejection symptoms. Will continue to have the rats monitor while I attend to other matters._

 _0600\. June 07. It finally happened, a break-through! Rook has agreed to hand-over the second female specimen at an agreeable price, so all further testing should continue on schedule with production. I gave the news personally to the subject, amazingly it seemed to facilitate a proper response to the serum! The transformation was beautiful-_

Penguin stared at the name with furrowed brows. With all the mentions of Rook in the journal, he knew it couldn't have been referring to any other Cyrus—but none of the comments made sense. _'She was being referred to as a test subject? What for? And why had the journal ended so abruptly?'_

"There's a name in here I recognize, Captain," he spoke up. "Cyrus, but I don't understand… she never mentioned anything about this?"

"Nothing could have happened to her!" Nyiji snapped at the mechanic and crossed her arms around herself. "She—she was with Alistair the whole time…we were there…"

"Then it's possible your Captain knows what this is about," Law spoke as he picked up a cup filled with coffee and took a long pull, eyeing her over the lip. She shook her head and began to run her fingers nervously through her wet hair, worrying her lower lip once more. At the rate she was going, it wouldn't heal properly. "We can discuss this later, if you need a moment."

"I'm fine," she lied. "what else have you found?"

Law didn't miss the accusing tone hidden in her words. "There are similar entries to this one, but there are no names. The other documents appear to be chemical readings."

"They were making something then?" Penguin asked as he selected another piece of paper from the table to read.

"It appears so."

As Law took another sip of his drink, Nyiji returned to looking through the other pages in her hands, hoping there would be something in them that could soothe her budding fears over what might have happened to her Amazonian crewmate. Most of the pages were a bunch of nonsense that went right over her head, but it was obvious (as Penguin had suggested) that the workers at Jiyan had been trying to concoct something and whatever it was, it needed human test subjects. She thumbed to the next page and paused as familiar words caught her attention. _'Ishi Ishi no Mi.'_ There, in black and white print was the name of her devil fruit. An analysis of the fruit's composition was laid out below along with illegible scribbling's and a brief description about previous users.

 _Capable of manifesting a physical representation of the user's willpower…_

Nyiji set the pages down on her lap and frowned as she met the Captain's amber gaze over the rim of his cup. She could see the swirls of ink peeking out from underneath his white button-down shirt and she let it take her mind back to the moment he had shielded her with a blindfold to protect her. "I have to know then, Trafalgar. What do you intend to do now?"

Penguin tore his eyes up from his own pages to look at her, a little stunned that she had been confident enough to ask. Law leaned forward and set the cup down on the table as he answered her: "That all depends on you."

"But Captain—" Penguin began to interrupt.

"What do you mean?" Nyiji asked instead, her attention focused solely on Trafalgar.

"You saved my life, twice. I'll return the favor with this. Do you still want to return to your Captain and crew, without knowing all the information first?"

His question made her mouth run dry and she looked away from the pair of eyes that seemed to be locked on her, waiting for a reply. She didn't know how to answer and that created a pool of guilt. She should have said yes, without question, without pause or delay. That was all she wanted, right? To be with her Captain and family once again, all of them safe and sound… _'But how safe were they really?'_

Yet there was so much information staring her in the face that she just couldn't ignore. The things the butler had told her, the facts on the documents and even what she had overheard from common workers. All of them told her that Alistair had sold her to someone. She had been given away to someone on Jiyan to be used for _something_ … something that Cyrus had likely already experienced. And what if that was true? How could she look her Captain in the eye again without knowing? Left always wondering… could she live like that?

A handkerchief appeared in front of her face, held wordlessly by a tattooed hand and she realized she was crying. Taking the proffered cloth, she wiped roughly at her tears.

"Have a rest and think about it. Penguin will take you to your room."

Penguin jolted up to his feet then, discarding the pages and walking briskly to the front door to hold it open for the woman as she sped out without a word. Her bare feet pattered along the hard metal floor as she walked ahead of him, a golden spyglass glinting in the hand at her side. He hurried to catch up to her as she began to take the stairs.

"Wait, Nyiji! Hold up!" She paused at the fourth step, a white knuckled hand on the railing as Penguin moved forward. "Are you OK?"

"I—thank you Penguin, for worrying… but… I _do_ have questions… just, no answers." Nyiji tipped her head back and stared up at the ceiling. Little bulbs of lights had been screwed into the ceiling, looking like little cake pops above her head.

"Then ask me," he took the steps down until he stood beside her. "Let me help. I'm sorry I couldn't before, but let me try now."

Nyiji frowned as she recalled their interrupted conversation when she had tried to guilt him into helping her get out of returning to Jiyan. It suddenly made sense why she hadn't seen him since then. She suddenly felt guilty for the look of remorse on his face.

"Come on." He gently took a hold of her hand and pulled her down the rest of the stairway, leading her towards his shared bedroom.

It was a few doors down from her small medical closet and wasn't much bigger. A bunk bed was pressed to the side where blankets and clothes had been thrown haphazardly, hanging off the top bunk like a little curtain. To the side of the room sat a little dresser, drawers spilled out onto the floor with random items sticking out that Penguin quickly kicked beneath the bed. In a rush of cleaning, he forced rolled up magazines beneath the mattresses and tried to collect all of the clothes into his arms, the pile growing exponentially with each addition.

"Do you need help?" she laughed, unable to help herself.

Penguin smiled as he saw her facial expression change, at least temporarily distracted by his mess. "No, no it's ok. I got it. I swear, all of this is Shachi's. I'm usually really clean."

"I haven't met him yet, but that was the friend you grew up with, right?" he nodded in confirmation and tucked the pile of clothes into a space between the bed and wall. "so, you two share a room?"

"No one else would," he teased and offered her a seat on the bottom bunk. "this one's mine, you can take a seat here."

She sunk easily into the soft mattress and let out a little laugh. "You sleep on a cloud, Penguin!"

"That's the idea." He winked and pulled his hat off his head, shaking out the white strands of his hair. He took up a seat on his small dresser, legs hanging over the sides and back pressed into the wall. "Are you still hungry? I can go get you another bowl, if you are?"

"No, thank you Penguin… uhm, listen. I-I need to apologize."

He blinked at her in confusion, "What for?"

She leaned back a little into his bed and her hair pooled around her. She couldn't believe how easy it had been to relax by just entering his messy room. "I tried to put you in an uncomfortable situation with your Captain before. I'm sorry."

Penguin beamed at her, his smile nearly blinding as he dismissed her apology. "It's ok, I understand. So, lets talk about those questions of yours."

Eyes darkening to a grey shade, Nyiji looked at the spots on her jeans as she tried to find the right words. "The… comments in that journal, about the test subject…"

"The one that had Cyrus's name." He nodded, watching her every movement.

"It's not the first time I…. heard about my Captain—well, that is… some of the men at the island… suggested that I had been… _sold_." She flitted her gaze up to him and away again, wincing a little at how it all sounded coming from her mouth. "Alistair wouldn't do that to me—to us, though. He wouldn't."

"They said your Captain sold you?" he repeated, frowning. "What about your other crewmembers? Cyrus?"

Her back went rigid as she thought about the bodies in the forest that they had come across and she pressed her hand across her mouth, tears prickling her eyes again. It was clear she didn't have the strength to answer him.

"If it's true, he would have to have a reason, right?" Penguin voiced his thoughts, hoping it would comfort her in some way.

She shook her head and blinked away the tears as she thought about Alistair and all of his secrets. "I don't know… but, after we had escaped Jiyan… he became someone else, he acted so different and I just—well, I thought it was because of what we had gone through. Everyone was different, it wasn't just him…"

Penguin's smile dropped. _'If that was how she felt after her first encounter with the island, what had a second return to Jiyan done to her?'_ Resisting asking all of the questions burning in his mind, 'What happened between you and Law? How did you garner all of those facial lacerations?' and a burning desire to know exactly how she had saved his Captain's life twice, Penguin chose to address Nyiji's current concerns. "Cyrus told me a little about your Captain, you know… but, she never spoke very highly of him."

"I… never noticed," she answered truthfully. "She always defended him. Always made sure everyone followed his orders without—"

"Nyiji?"

"—Question?"

Moving towards her on the bed, Penguin gingerly reached out for her and grabbed a hold of her shoulders as she wiped at her face, hiccupping on tears. Kneeling in front of her, he soothingly rubbed at her arms in an attempt to comfort her. She pulled away sharply as if he had hurt her and his hands came away sticky.

"What's this?" he asked himself, even though he knew exactly what the red substance was. "You're hurt!"

"I'm ok, I think I just broke a stitch."

She peeled the collar of the shirt from her body and pulled it down her shoulder to reveal an arsenal of wounds. Penguin winced as he looked at the thread snapped open at her shoulder, a wound pulling apart and bleeding profusely. "I'll go get Captain."

He was gone before she could beg him not to and then she was alone in the mechanic's shared quarters. Wiping the last of her tears away, Nyiji took a deep breath to clear her mind before the men returned. A painting hung on the wall near the room's doorway, an oceanic scene with a robin shaped island in the center. She wished she could drown in those waves, live on that island for the rest of her days. It looked peaceful.

A sigh slipped out and she slumped against the bunk bed's frame, eyes falling closed. She could hear feet coming down the hallway and thought of her Amazonian friend's heavy steps. It was more than a simple temper that fueled the woman's walk. When it came to Cyrus, it was a deep pride in herself that she wore like a badge everywhere she went and now that Nyiji thought about it, she could understand why the Amazonian had shared information with Penguin. Whether Nyiji could come to terms with the information being real or not—something _had_ happened to Cyrus. She could see that now. It was possible that everything she had seen and heard were lies, but it was also plausible that there were truths there, waiting to be revealed and accepted.

"Oh fuck, did she pass out?" Penguin cried as he hurried over to her. "Nyiji?"

Her eyes flickered open and she saw the mechanic fussing over her as his Captain moved into the room, a small black bag at his side. He ordered his friend to move out of the way and took up Penguin's position, tucking his fingers into the collar of her shirt and pulling it down to get a look at her injury. He made a little _'tsk'_ at the sight of her pulled stitches.

"Can you give us some privacy, Pen?" he asked his subordinate, eye flashing towards the door. Penguin nodded, sending his snowy hair everywhere and exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

"What happened to your bandages?" Law asked her once they were alone.

Holding the shirt's neckline against her, Nyiji's face flushed at his forward behaviour. "I threw them away in your garbage. They were ruined in the bath."

Law nodded as he cracked open his medical bag and began to dig around in its contents. "You should have told me earlier. Take off the shirt."

"You could use a little bedside manner," she complained. "but I'm not… I didn't have anything to wear underneath this—"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before. Hurry up," he cut her off, attention focused on the bag as he withdrew a proper surgical needle, curved in all its glory and a spindle of thread.

Nyiji's face burned hot as she slipped the long-sleeved shirt over her head, keeping it held on her elbows to cover her breasts from him. She let out a little noise of pain as the move pulled at her shoulder wound, the remaining stitches unwinding and snapping. He turned to face her at the noise. Her eyes were squinted in pain, cheeks flushed pink as she avoided eye contact with him. Law grabbed a cloth and a bottle of saline solution from his bag. Popping the top off the bottle, he then placed the cloth over its lid and tipped it swiftly to the side to soak the fabric through. Setting the bottle aside, he turned to his patient and motioned for her to adjust her position for better access to her shoulder to wipe away the blood and clean the wound.

"Will these heal ok?" she mumbled a question as he picked up a pair of forceps and began to pluck the old stitches from her open wound, gently working them free from her skin so as not to cause her any additional discomfort.

"It should," he set the used thread onto the bed and turned to grab another bottle from his bag, this one much smaller compared to the saline's container. "If you don't keep ripping them open, that is."

His hands worked quickly, filling a syringe with a small dose of xylocaine that he depressed into her shoulder. As he waited for the numbing agent to take effect, he prepared his surgical needle with a line of thread and joined her on the bed, eyes closing in on the nasty wound. Nyiji sighed as she watched him pierce the needle through her flesh—this time she couldn't feel a thing, and she was grateful. It had been hard keeping silent the last time without any pain killers or numbing agents. As he worked with a singular focus, her wound began to close tightly. The thread moving through her as if she were a rag-doll. When Law was finally finished, he leaned back and admired his work. Blue thread decorated her shoulder, standing out against her pale skin, finely laced and knotted.

Nyiji bent her shoulder to get a look at his work. "Thank you."

He nodded and reached over to grab another roll of gauze from his bag. "I'll dress your wounds again and then you can return to your Penguin watching."

She glared at him as he covered a smile by turning away from her, conveniently unrolling the gauze in his hands as a distraction. "I hate to break it to you, but I am not interested in any of your crew members."

"Oh, so it's just me then." Her cheeks darkened and the color ran up to her ears. Law chuckled to himself then as he reached for her and began to bind her wounds. "I'll just leave it at that then."

Her embarrassment continued after Law had finally finished processing her, letting Penguin back inside the room after she pulled the shirt back over her torso. The two barely conversed at the door, deciding together that it was best if she was returned to her room to sleep.

"Sorry," Penguin repeated for the third time, standing awkwardly in the door frame.

Settling into her hammock, Nyiji tried to assuage the pirate's worries by waving at him, only to lose her balance and spill into the roped bed. He was quick to her side to help her.

"Its ok. I'm good," his hands left her then. "I wouldn't mind getting some rest, actually."

If her request bothered him, Penguin didn't let it show as he swiftly left the room, shutting the door behind him. Though they hadn't gotten the chance to talk a lot, a small weight had lifted from her shoulders, making it easier to sort her thoughts.

* * *

The morning sun rose over the yellow submarine as it sailed beneath the ocean's surface, a vibrant figure underneath the gentle waves. Colorful little fish swam in schools around the sub, reflecting light off of one another as they moved in sync. Inside there was a cluster of energy as pirates moved about, heading towards the galley for their plates of breakfast in a rush of bodies that crammed into the hallway. Separating from the crowd, Penguin stepped out of the line to stop at medical closet '3', softly knocking on the door before he poked his head into the room. A light bulb swung from the ceiling dangerously, nearly hitting him in the head as he entered.

"Hey, it's time for breakfast," he called to the body still tucked into the swinging cot. Picking up the blanket from the floor, he reached out and gently touched the sleeping woman's shoulder. "Wake up Nyiji, come on!"

An arm clothed in a shirt too long for her body, Nyiji swatted him away and tried to tuck herself back into the ball she had been in. Not rejected in the slightest Penguin shook her a little more aggressively until her eyes finally fluttered open.

"Ok! Ok, I'm awake!"

Stepping back, he let her swing her legs over the cot's side, bare and bruised legs appearing underneath the rolled-up jeans. She shook the bunches in her jeans out to cover herself once more, weakly yawning in the process. "What's going on?" she asked him as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Breakfast!"

"I'm not hungry," she replied and began to work her long and tangled hair back into a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. "You can just go without me."

Patting her knees, Penguin stood up to full height and bounced to the side when the light bulb struck him in the side of the head. "Ow!" swatting the light away he rubbed at his injury. "Come on Nyiji, don't be like that, I just took a light bulb for you!"

"My hero," she cooed, still sitting in her cot with no intentions of moving.

Penguin let out a frustrated sigh and moved towards the bedroom door. "Alright, but the Captain won't be happy. He'll probably come drag you out. No one's allowed to miss meals after all… but, if you _want_ to risk it…" he smiled in satisfaction when she got up, groaned and moved past him.

Moving into the busy galley, the Heart pirates congregated around a smorgasbord of food, each carrying a tray and chatting as they moved in an orderly line. Nyiji and Penguin joined at the tail-end and waited their turn as an arrangement of food greeted them.

"So… how are you feeling today?" Penguin made conversation as he selected two red trays for their use.

She shrugged as she took one of the trays from his hands, eyeing the variety of men ahead of them. They all looked so cheerful and comfortable with each other, like a big bustling family. "I'm… ok."

"Did you, uhm well—about what Captain said the other day… have you… thought about it?"

She flicked her gaze over to him, expression blank and unresponsive, a good mask that hid her inner turmoil. She had been thinking about it, all night in fact, after he had dropped her off in her room to rest. "I have…"

"You don't have to tell me if you've decided on anything," he set the tray down and began to load it with bacon and red hash browns. "But I think it would be fun to have you aboard our sub a little longer. I could finally introduce you to everyone." He waved at the group of men ahead of them in line that were moving off to take seats on the couches or in the alcove seating areas.

Nyiji tried to force a smile as she grabbed a small bowl of yellow-colored pudding for her tray, interested only in getting the fastest and easiest thing to eat so she could make a quick exit. Sliding her tray along she met the intense stare of the Heart's chef, glaring at her through his glasses with the familiar surgical mask pulled up over half his face. Without giving him a chance to slip in a biting remark about her eating habits or dislike for his cooking, she moved away with her pudding and headed towards one of the unoccupied alcoves. Penguin moved to follow after he had gathered his own breakfast, a selection of food that was stacked and balanced precariously on the red plastic in his hands. Sliding in beside her, he offered her a spoon that she had forgotten to grab and smirked.

"It's funny you chose this spot," he commented, as most of the time he had seen her through the week, she had stuck to one of the couches with Uni standing guard.

"Why?" she asked as she dug into her meal, making a face after her first bite. "How the hell is this _sour_?"

He laughed at her puckered lips. "Cause' this is where Cap sits."

Flicking her eyes up to look at him she noticed a little sparkle in his baby blues. "You're not serious."

"I am," he bobbed his head and thumbed the doorway. "he'll likely be here soon too."

Glowering down at her sour pudding, Nyiji pushed the solidified liquid around in its bowl. Well, she supposed she had to address the elephant at some point. Scanning the room nervously she shifted in her seat until she was pressed into Penguin's side, her body heat soaking into his unzipped boiler suit. He flushed and nearly jumped from the curved booth until her arm grabbed his elbow and pulled him back down.

"Hold on, Pen," she whispered, cupping a hand around her mouth so only he would hear her in the crowded room.

He looked at her with wide eyes, obviously discomforted with her closeness. "I want to ask you about Cyrus…something I didn't get to ask last night."

"What's that?" he tested, a little afraid that she would ask him about seducing the woman for information. _'It hadn't been his finest moment, really. Or… moments.'_

Leaning in closer to speak with him she finally asked the burning question: "What did she tell you… about our crew…. About Jiyan? Please, I need to know, all of it. Everything she shared."

Adjusting the brim of his hat, he looked out at the packed galley, hoping one of his crew members would notice his discomfort and maybe interrupt them. He caught the gaze of his redheaded best friend and did his best to bulge his eyes out in a basic silent plea for help. Shachi laughed and turned away, picking up his meal with a wicked grin.

" _Asshole,_ " he muttered, then turned back to her. "I mean… she just told me stuff, like… I don't know, who you guys were, your positions aboard the ship… Uh, your mercenaries."

Nyiji nodded into her bowl of pudding and stirred the contents slowly. "Did she tell you who had the information you needed?"

"Well, sort of…"

Her silver eyes flashed. "Then she knew a little about what you wanted, your reasons for going to Jiyan in the first place."

"Ah! Well!" _shit._ Penguin quickly moved out of the seat, away from her body and stood at the front of the table awkwardly. "She told me who in the crew got out. We didn't talk about my crew, really!"

"Then she was willing to help you without knowing your motives?" she pressed.

Glancing over his shoulder at his friend, Penguin once more sent a strangled expression at the redhead who finally made his way over, carrying his own tray of food. Stopping beside him, Shachi peered over the frames of his shades and eyed the female in the booth with a grin. "So, this is our newest resident prisoner, huh? What's up, Pen. Can't handle her?"

Nyiji raised an eyebrow at Penguin's flushed face. Fiddling with her pudding she took her time to examine the shorter man, he was only a few inches beneath Penguin's stature and his features were sharper. As he set his tray of food beside hers and casually slid in beside her, she noticed he had similar tattoos to his Captain on his forearms, though the ink was a perfect white against his peachy skin.

"She seems pretty harmless to me." He flashed her a grin as their legs and sides pressed together.

"Nyiji, this is Shachi," Penguin supplied the man's name as he pinched the bridge of his nose and grabbed his tray of food to move to the other side of the table. Before he could sit down another occupant made their way over, raising a dark brow at the closeness of his redheaded mechanic to the female. "Captain! Ah, good morning!"

Shachi waved happily at his Captain and swung an arm over the back of the booth, tucked behind Nyiji's head casually. "Mornin' Cap!"

Taking a very long and—what looked to be needed, if Shachi's behavior was any indication—needed pull from his coffee, Law slipped into the booth as Penguin offered the seat up. "Should I even ask?"

Letting his arm drop off the seat to wrap around Nyiji's shoulders, Shachi leaned into the table, bringing her closer to his body as he grinned impishly at his Captain. "Hey, I'm just being a team sport! Little chicken over there had his tail stuck between his legs like the little lady was biting his head off."

"I wasn't biting his head off," Nyiji replied with a frown and tried to shake the man's arm off her body. Failing she felt him tighten his grip and pull her tighter against him. "Would you let me go?"

"Shachi, come on," Penguin tried to warn his friend, glancing nervously between the two.

"Then what were you two so caught up in conversation about, hmm?" Shachi pressed, lowering his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to level her with a green stare.

"Your Captain's offer," she confessed before Penguin could answer for her. Three pairs of eyes turned to her and she felt Shachi's arm tense around her. Confusion clouded his face and he glanced between his two friends as if they had all the answers.

"What's she talking about?"

Now was the time, she had their attention, she had to say it. She had to vocalize it before the chance was gone. Grabbing Shachi's wrist and removing his limb from her body, pleased to find that he gave her zero resistance, Nyiji settled her attention onto their Captain. He looked as calm and unapproachable as ever, relaxed into the booth with a cup of coffee.

"I… want to stay aboard your submarine and find the answers. I want to know what happened to my crewmates. I—if you will accept, I will continue to offer my help."

"What further help can you offer?" Law asked her as his mug was set down onto the table, nearly empty and in dire need of a refill. Penguin slipped into the seat beside him and began to tuck into his breakfast, interested in seeing how the conversation would develop.

"I know my Captain, and whatever information you are looking for still, the answers we both want… he won't give them up. But I know of ways around him. The company we worked for," Nyiji paused as Shachi bit into an egg sandwich and sprayed her as he chewed obnoxiously. "Seriously?"

"What?" he asked with an open mouth filled with chewed food.

"Close your mouth Shach," Penguin groaned and flicked a biscuit across the table at his friend.

The redhead cackled as he dodged and reached for his plate to grab something to return fire with. "Stop it," Law interrupted his movement.

"He started it though Cap!" Shachi tried to innocently protest.

Rolling his eyes, Law waved Penguin to move out of the booth so he could escape. "I need more coffee for this. Puppy-ya, come with me."

Following his lead, she snuck out of the booth and chased after his long-legged stride, nervously dodging between crewmates that over eagerly stepped in her way to bid him a greeting. Pausing at the kitchen counter, Law set his mug down and tapped the linoleum for Mason's attention, wordlessly asking for another refill. She moved to his side and Law dropped his attention back to her, a head shorter than him, peering casually in at his chef as he handled the coffee pot.

"I'm surprised you let him handle such a dangerous instrument," she catcalled to the chef, smiling cheekily to herself when Mason turned around to yell at her.

"I heard that!"

"You were supposed to." She bobbed her head and then stopped when she noticed the weak brew pouring out. "You're not even steeping the beans long enough!"

"They're steeped fine!" Mason grumped out as he poured the hot liquid into his Captain's cup. "What would you know about coffee anyway?"

Law resisted the urge to grin as he watched the woman unintentionally entertain his men. Though he had ordered most of them to limit contact with her since she was released from the brig, he noted that quite a few had gravitated towards her anyway, if only to witness her confrontations with his chef.

"A lot more than you, apparently," she answered and turned on Trafalgar as he raised the cup to his lips. "Are you really going to drink that swill?"

Choosing not to respond Law took a sip and hid his emotions behind the mug. He could tell Mason was nearing boiling point, so choosing to keep what little peace remained, he caught Nyiji's attention and directed her to follow him out to the hallway. It would afford them more privacy anyway. The corridor was now empty since all accounted pirates had gathered in the mess hall for breakfast, making it the safest place to converse with her outside of his office without interruption.

"I'd appreciate it if you quit bothering my chef, Puppy-ya. He doesn't handle being antagonized very well."

Smiling at the comment, Nyiji fiddled with her braid and hoped she hadn't just pissed the man off after asking to stay aboard his submarine. "I'll make sure not to do it again then."

Law nodded and took another pull of his coffee, glancing over her head to see his men still milling in and out of the line in front of the kitchen counter. His attention was drawn back to her when she began speaking again, still nervously ruining her carefully threaded hair.

"As I was saying before, well… I want to stay and… learn the truth."

"If you intend to stay aboard my submarine, you will adhere to all of my rules."

Nyiji nodded, releasing the braid from her fingers, a little surprised about how easy this all was. All night she had worried that he would decline her. Perhaps even drop her off on a random island and sail off into the distance, but instead, he had dashed all of her worries without batting an eyelash.

"Your status will not be changing, and you will not be given any freedoms," He began, adding: "If you cause any problems, if you threaten my crew in any fashion—"

"I won't be a problem," she interrupted him in a low tone. "and I will pull my own weight. I won't be a hindrance to you."

A silence fell between them as they regarded one another and Law leaned against the side of the wall, pressing his shoulder into the space before the archway. "Well then Puppy-ya, I suppose it's time we discuss our next steps. The company you worked for, what exactly were you going to mention about it?"

"We had contacts all over the place that would give us our next job… if I can reach out to one of them, maybe I can find out something about Jiyan."

"So, espionage… somehow, I don't think you're quite cut out for it."

Nyiji frowned and placed her hands stubbornly on her hips as she glared at him, "I'm well-versed in holding my tongue, Trafalgar." The man grinned and buried his face into his mug as he withheld a taunt at the mention of her tongue. He heard her huff as she turned away from him to face the open galley. "But… I have to know something first… you aren't planning on going back to that island, are you?"

Law thought about his answer before he gave it. Returning to Jiyan certainly hadn't been ruled out yet, there were many unanswered questions left there that going back would likely yield a light on, but he also knew the risks. And one glance at the woman's fragile disposition told him a return trip this soon would likely crack whatever mental stability she had left.

"No. I want more information on those documents we found first. I'll talk with Bepo later about where we'll head next, depending on where you think you can find a contact and I'll look into finding someone capable of decoding those chemical readings."

"The ones you two thought meant they were making something on Jiyan?"

Pushing off the wall he moved closer to her and gestured they move a little further down the hallway and away from the galley. "It's more than those documents that suggest it, Puppy-ya. Why else would they have running factories and facilities?"

 _'Well, she supposed she should have thought about that before…'_

"I'm also interested in that devil fruit of yours, you never did say exactly how you obtained it. Your Captain was involved, I assume?"

Looking off down the hall and searching the empty space for a distraction with which to avoid his question, Nyiji clenched her hands at her sides and resisted the urge to fiddle with her braid. It was a nervous habit that would only give her away in this instance. She could feel the dark Captain eyeing her as they walked, but he didn't press her to answer, instead he let his question linger between them. Stopping by the small laundry room, Law pulled open the door and stepped inside to collect a bucket filled with cleaning tools that he handed off to her.

"What's this?" she balked at the bucket.

"Your new job," he answered and pointed a finger at their surroundings. "You can clean this floor. _'Pull your own weight,'_ as I recall? Just something to keep you busy with when you're not on _'espionage duty'_."

Nyiji grimaced as he moved past her. "You're not as funny as you think you are," she huffed and followed.

Waving a tattooed hand in the air, as if to brush her off, Law grinned down at the shorter female and flashed his golden orbs over her figure. "And you are much easier to read than you think. Another thing, Puppy-ya, you'll no longer be allowed to use the showers in the communal bathroom. For your safety, you can use mine."

"My safety?" she quickly chased after him, bucket bouncing off her abdomen.

"In case you haven't noticed, Puppy-ya, you are the only female aboard this submarine," tucking his hands into his pockets, Law let a little smirk take over his features with her visible discomfort. "Of course, don't let that stop you from cleaning the bathroom on this floor. I'm sure you'll have a knack for it."

Before he could slip away, he left her with the parting words: "I'll fetch you after I speak with my navigator. Happy cleaning."

Nyiji watched him walk away, a swagger to his stride as his ego filled. _'He certainly loves having the last word,'_ she thought. With a frown she looked down at the bucket's contents. It wasn't the first time she had been assigned cleaning duty, but of course, that had been back aboard her own ship. Not this death trap of metal. A scrub brush with sharp little metal bristles found its way into her hand and she rubbed her thumb over them before she pressed the pad of her finger down sharply. The little bristles pierced her skin and she pulled her thumb away, staring at the little red pricks as blood rose to the surface. The sharp pain reminded her that this was all real. She had actually asked the man to stay aboard his submarine and he had really agreed. She was going through with it.

Dropping the brush back into the bucket and returning to the little laundry room, she found a small basin that she used to collect water. On a shelf above the strange machines she found soap that was added and mixed until the bucket was half filled with a froth of bubbles. Rolling the sleeves of her shirt up to the elbow, Nyiji left the room and examined the hallway as she tried to pick where to start cleaning. If he wanted the bathroom done, she'd leave it for last. That left her trying to pick between the stairs or the opposite end of the hall. Perhaps she should start in one of the communal rooms? Vaguely she recalled when Uni had pointed out each shared space. _'Galley, bathroom, laundry… hadn't there been more?'_

Making her way further down the hallway and looking in at each door, she discovered a series of bedrooms belonging to each member of the crew. At the end of the hallway, close to a staircase leading down, she found a grand living space. Similar to the galley there were a set of couches for lounging, though they were thankfully clothed in a deep red material rather than a blinding yellow. The room itself held an eerie blue tinge to it which could be accredited not to the blue paint but the numerous portholes and stretches of windows that lined each wall. Fish that varied in size and color swam past the windows, casting shadows along the room that lured her inside, completely entranced. She had never been so close to sea life. Setting the bucket down on a table she stopped to press a hand against the thick glass. A little pink fish swam near her palm and nibbled at the glass as if she were a free meal, its mouth opening and closing hilariously. A little gasp escaped her as a much larger fish swallowed her new friend and she found herself watching as the aquatic life rippled away from the dominant fish.

Pulling away from the schools of colorful sea life, Nyiji found herself looking around for Owens, ready to fire off a comment about how incredible the fish were, only to realize that she was alone. _And he was dead._ Her gut sank. She didn't know why she had done that but the behavior wasn't something she was accustomed to. It was just an instinctive reaction that caused her to seek out his ghost or after-image, hoping to seek his input on her situation. It didn't mean anything, but that didn't stop her from feeling terrible about it. A desperate part of her had genuinely wanted him to appear though, to step in and comfort her or push her to survive and live just as he had done back on Jiyan.

Turning away and shutting her mind down before her thoughts could get any darker, she grabbed up the bucket forcefully, causing water to slosh over the side and decided that she would start with cleaning this room. At least here she could appreciate the ocean and its life as a pleasant distraction. Scrubbing at a table, Nyiji breathed the tightness in her chest away one exhale at a time. It was hard being alone. At least when someone was around watching her, judging, she could hold it together. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she got down to her hands and knees to start on the floor, working from the back of the room all the way to the front entrance. Every few minutes though she would catch herself glancing around the room in search of a mirage only to chastise herself and wish she had better control.

Throwing the brush back into the tub of soapy water, tired of dealing with a stubborn stain, she sat back and took another deep breath. "I can do this dad," she whispered to the spyglass on her hip, attached to the spotted pants she had borrowed.

* * *

 _Author's note; This. Was. A. Behemoth._

 _That's all I have to say. Hope you all enjoyed!_


	10. Chapter Ten

Covered in the bundle of borrowed clothes she'd used as blankets, Nyiji woke that morning to a noise outside of the door. The hammock swung between the shelving units at a slow controlled pace as she lied still while trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. She was not awake enough yet to decipher what was causing the disturbance outside. Voices shouted from the hallway, accompanied by heavy footfalls and a weird scratching noise, growing in volume with every minute. Deciding to investigate, Nyiji clumsily rolled the hammock into a rocky swing that sent her tumbling to the floor with an ' _oomph.'_

Her legs were tangled in a white shirt that earned itself a glare and a curse: "Stupid."

Freeing herself from the cotton and shuffling to the bedroom door, she pressed her ear against the metal and concentrated. At best the words were garbled but there were at least two distinct voices in conversation. Quickly grabbing the boiler suit that had been loaned to her, she dressed. Gingerly tucking her stitched arms into the sleeves and zipping up the front, she kicked the mess of fabrics beneath the hammock and turned. Pushing open the door and poking her head out, the situation was revealed as she took in numerous Heart pirates carting heavy boxes and tables upstairs, their bodies appearing from within the galley before marching along.

"Guess you're awake, huh?" Uni spoke up from her side, his eyes ever white and vacant as he looked at her.

Head tilting towards the fishman and taking in his appearance, Nyiji eyed the bandana that concealed the spikes on his face. Though his words were few, it was the kindest he had been to her since revealing his heritage. It still did little to ease her discomfort however as she spotted a slight twitch beneath the cloth. It didn't help that Uni liked to lord his presence over her either.

"I am," she finally answered him. "W-what is going on here?"

Looking away from the prisoner Uni scratched at his scalp, fingers getting caught in his giant afro while he watched his crewmates tirelessly work. A variety of kitchen carts were being carried out on the shoulders of two stronger men while Mason trailed behind them, barking instructions to keep his ' _equipment sterile.'_

"What does it look like?" he asked sarcastically, knowing full well that what his crewmates were up to was rather unclear without an explanation.

Fingers twisting into her braid, Nyiji stepped out of her room and moved to Uni's side to watch the spectacle from a safe distance. She didn't notice the fishman's gaze as it dropped to her, confused by her sudden closeness. "Can I help?" she suddenly asked, looking at him. Uni immediately turned his head away.

"Not up to me," he answered honestly, voice significantly quieter beneath the bandana.

Wiping the sleep out from one eye while watching the moving crowd, Nyiji tried to find someone to ask. There was Mason, who was still shouting about cleanliness, but he was more likely to deny her faster than Uni. She would have better luck asking someone she hadn't yet met; a few pirates lingering near the galley, slacking in their job seemed like the optimal choice. As she was about to walk forward and approach one, a hand fell on her shoulder and drew her back a step.

Confused, she looked up at Uni for an explanation. His palm still wrapped around her shoulder, he cleared his throat and said: "You're injured, just stay put."

Unconsciously Nyiji looked down at her body and frowned; though her wounds were concealed beneath the boiler suit and her face had healed significantly, she still looked a mess. "I can handle it," pretending to flex an arm with a giant smile on her face, she added, "Anyway, aren't pirates supposed to take advantage of prisoners?"

It was strange to see the unshakable man look so taken aback, eyes visibly wider and brows hiked up to his hairline. A single blink of his eyelids was all it took for Uni to recover, expression returned to that usual and familiar glare.

"I promise not to give you any grief," she added.

"Just being here causes me grief," Uni griped before he released her shoulder and pointed forward. "If you're so intent on wrecking yourself, fine, but I don't want you pulling any of that shit around Bepo."

"Bepo—"

"The bear. You know, the one you go spastic over whenever he's in the same room as you?" Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and he snorted beneath the bandana. "It's all going up to the deck. Come on."

Without waiting for her to follow, Uni made his way forward and entered the galley. Selecting two of the heaviest boxes he could find, he handed them off to Nyiji with a small smirk, noticing the way her legs wobbled underneath the weight. To her credit, she took the heavy cargo without complaint and followed him through the submarine's corridor, just barely keeping up with his longer strides. Stopping on the stairs when she nearly lost her hold on the boxes, a squeak escaped her as a hand fell to her lower back and supported her. Glancing over her shoulder, eyes wide, she took in her savior.

"Ya got it?" the man asked, voice gruff.

"Y-yes!" she squeaked, startled by the man's enormous size. He wasn't anywhere near the same height as Alistair, but he still had a good two feet on her, and the sheer bulk to his body was nothing to scoff at.

Freeing one hand from the cargo, Nyiji flexed her fingers to work out the numbing sensation that had caused her to nearly lose her hold in the first place; that had been happening a lot lately. Nodding, the man pushed her up the last of the steps without any remorse for her gasps of pain before moving past her on his way to the Polar Tang's front hatch. The door had been left open to make transporting easier, so a sweet breeze blew in off the ocean.

"Come on," Uni urged her back into movement.

Standing at the door ahead and still barking orders, Mason stepped in the way just as Nyiji moved forward, barrelling into him with the boxes and nearly knocking him off of his feet. He would have tumbled to the ground had he not grabbed a hold of the doorjamb for support.

"Sorry!" Nyiji cried without realizing who she had hit, her face still obscured behind the crates.

A blonde head of curls appeared around the side, light glinting off of his spectacles. The two stared at one another for a moment, unsure of how to react before Uni interrupted them by stealing the boxes still in Nyiji's arms.

"Just get over it," Uni advised the chef. Gesturing to the load in his arms, he added: "Where do you want these?"

Keeping his gaze on the woman, Mason thrust a finger over his shoulder to indicate the small setup of tables where they had been preparing for an outdoor lunch. His crewmate walked away, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence.

"Do you do this often?" Nyiji finally asked in an attempt to make awkward conversation with the blonde currently melting her with his stare.

About to open his mouth and put his venomous tongue to use, Mason was interrupted by someone else as they answered her question in his stead: "Only when the weathers nice!" Appearing at her side with a big _stupid_ smile on his face, Penguin skirted around her with a heavy grill in his arms, shooting Mason a little wink.

"What is she even doing up here?" Mason grouched, turning to glare at Uni as if he were to blame.

"She offered to help," the fishman answered, shrugging a shoulder.

Ignoring his two arguing crewmates, Penguin placed the grill down near a table full of assembled snacks before turning to look at Nyiji who was still standing beside Mason. While she was distracted, he took the moment to look over her injuries as discreetly as possible. He didn't want to admit it but he had been worried ever since she had burst her stitches in his room. They had talked very little about her injuries and how she had obtained them before she had clammed up on the topic entirely, choosing to cover herself up in their uniform and hide away while she healed. It hadn't stopped his curiosity however. She caught his gaze while he was still in the middle of a thought and Penguin felt himself redden as she turned away and physically shrunk in on herself as if he had been undressing her with his eyes. ' _Crap.'_

Hoping to clear away some of her discomfort from Penguin's lingering stare, Nyiji looked out to the early horizon. Not a cloud in the baby blue sky and ocean as far as the eye could see. It was a calm and quiet morning, if you blocked out the ruckus from the pirates on deck.

Tucking strands of hair behind her ear, Nyiji interrupted Mason's one-sided argument with Uni to comment on the weather: "Seems like a good day for a barbecue."

' _No shit,'_ Mason mentally snapped to himself, eyes narrowed before he turned and pivoted on his heel. A rack of meat sat beside the grill, ready for his attention. At least cooking would ease the budding headache that seemed to assault him whenever he was in the prisoner's presence. Whenever she opened her mouth to speak, it was difficult keeping his mouth closed and thoughts internalized. All he wanted to do was throw her overboard or vent his frustrations, yet a single yellow eyed glance from his Captain stayed his tongue and reminded him of what would come should his mouth run wild.

"Where do you want this, Mace?" another crewmember asked, holding up a large tub for garbage. When he was directed to set it ' _anywhere_ ' nearly every pirate gave pause. "Don't tell me you've got heat stroke?"

"Why would you ask that?" the chef snapped.

"Well usually you're—"

"Anal?" realizing the word had slipped from her mouth without thought, Nyiji's face blossomed red. Frantically waving her hands in the air between them, she hoped she could find someway to drive away her mistake. She had just been warned about riling up Trafalgar's chef and promised that she would refrain from doing this very thing.

Mason's face turned a strange shade of purple and his eyes thinned into slits beneath his glasses as a long pregnant pause hung between them. About to apologize for her comment, Nyiji was interrupted by laughter coming from a very unusual source. All eyes turned onto the fishman as he barked out a noise that shook his entire body. He was laughing so hard that he was bent over his knees and slapping a hand comically against his side. Uni's laughter was a rare occurrence but clearly a treat as multiple faces broke out in wide grins. When he had finally gotten control over himself again and noticed the stares, an awkward cough was the only outward sign of his discomfort.

"What?" he barked, shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot. There was another twitch beneath the cloth on his face.

"Oh ya, _so_ fucking funny," Mason answered him. "Watch how funny you find it when I quit feeding you!"

Bristling from the comment, Uni glared over the bandana. "Does that mean _she'll_ be cooking again? Oi, Cap! Mace doesn't want to cook anymore, can we let the prisoner take over?" Nyiji felt herself smile from the comment, secretly proud that the cold fishman had given her such a compliment, whether he realized it or not.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to slip away as a fight broke out on deck, Nyiji vanished into the submarine's recesses before her very presence added more fuel to the fire. The last thing she wanted was to piss Mason off any further and upset their Captain. Heading straight to her room and dodging the few bodies that were still carrying items up onto the deck, she paused outside of her door upon realizing that Uni hadn't followed her back inside. She was alone, without supervision. Standing still and casting a few looks towards the stairs in anticipation of the fishman's arrival, she waited until she was sure no one was coming before allowing herself to rethink her earlier idea of hiding out in her bedroom.

Had this been a week ago she would have jumped at the opportunity to explore the submarine for an escape or even for something to take advantage of, but things were different now. There was some modicum of respect between her and Trafalgar, along with a common interest that made the idea of exploring his vessel without his permission feel dirty. Hesitating with these thoughts and feelings, Nyiji looked to the end of the hallway where a set of stairs led down to the third floor, an area she had avoided after being freed from the brig.

"Of course," she tried to reason with herself, "What he doesn't know won't hurt him…"

Uni wasn't around to shadow and report back her every movement either, lowering the risk of her being caught. She reasoned with herself that exploring the vessel while she had the chance was the wisest move. Even if she didn't want to break whatever fragile bond of trust she had been given, she still knew nothing about these men. Biting the pad of her thumb, Nyiji stole another glance towards the stairs, confirming that she was still alone before making her move. It would be one quick look around and then she would be back in her room before anyone was any the wiser.

Fingers unconsciously searched for the spyglass hidden inside the one-piece outfit, tucked in the band of her underwear. Its presence gave her the courage she needed. Taking the steps two at a time, she landed at the bottom of the stairs where the floor's square footage became abruptly smaller, divided by a wall that extended out to conceal another corridor. It appeared this wall had been manufactured exclusively to hide the hallway from the brig's entrance. Not interested in spending anymore quality time inside the prison, Nyiji took the narrow corner, opening and closing nearly every door she came across.

"Weapons, storage… gym?" she muttered to herself after looking into each space. "Bedrooms. More storage…"

At last she stood in front of the final door where a deep rumbling could be heard coming through the metal. Palm pressed flat to the door; a heat radiated from within to meet her skin. It must have been stifling inside. ' _But what's inside?'_

About to press her hand onto the doorknob and investigate, Nyiji stumbled back in freight as the door opened outward. Stepping out of the room and nearly colliding with her, she came face to face with the redheaded mechanic. Sunglasses slipping down the bridge of his nose revealed shocked green irises that instantly fixed on her. It took only seconds before his shock abated and his face transformed into a mischievous grin. She didn't even have time to curse or escape before he had reached out, securing a fistful of the cloth at her chest and jerked her forward even as her feet kicked out in the opposite direction.

"Oi! _Pri-so-neeer_!" Shachi sang out each syllable. "What a surprise!"

Clutching at the hand holding her hostage, Nyiji visibly gulped as she debated her next options. Getting caught had not been on the agenda but what could she do? Fight and make the situation worse? Try to talk her way out of it? The redhead certainly didn't look like he was ready to have a nice long talk with her about why she was prowling around an area that had been set as ' _off-limits'_ by his Captain.

"Curious meeting you here," he continued as he turned on one foot and slammed her against the wall, easily pinning her. He was surprisingly strong for his frame.

"Uhm—I," her eyes darted towards the end of the hallway before falling back on the man, eyeing his state of undress and sweaty skin. "Penguin asked me to come get you," she lied.

His eyebrow curved but the grin never faltered. Leaning into her space, face nearly touching hers, Shachi reached a hand around her body. She visibly flinched, looking absolutely frightened by his motives before sound began to warble out from a tube behind her.

"Yo! Pen," he called casually, never leaning back to give her back the space she desperately craved.

' _At least he wasn't fondling her…'_ she thought.

"Ok! I lied!" she admitted before anyone could respond through the tube, hoping that by copping up he might take pity on her.

" _Sup' Shach?"_ a familiar voice called from the tube a second later.

Eyes sparkling, never breaking from her silvery irises, Shachi spoke to the tube as if she weren't there: "You seen Nana in awhile?"

" _Nana?_ " came Penguin's reply, his words mimicking Nyiji's thoughts.

"Prisoner," Shachi supplied as an explanation, thoughtlessly shrugging a shoulder.

" _Fucking moron. It's Nyiji—like, knee-gee."_

"Ya, right! Nancy," Shachi continued, unperturbed with getting her name wrong right in front of her. "So, ya seen her in awhile?"

" _Uh, went to her room, I think."_

"Please?" Nyiji whispered to the mechanic, now nervously squeezing the palm that held her against the wall.

As if he had been waiting for her to plead, Shachi relaxed his grip though he did not release her. "Cool," he spoke to the tube, "Tell Uni I'll take the rest of the day's watch."

" _You're going to watch her?"_ the sarcastic tone dripping off of Penguin's words didn't go amiss to those that heard it.

"Sure am!" the redhead chirped before flipping the tube's lid closed, effectively ending the conversation. Without another word to her, he began to drag her down the hallway and back up to the second floor.

"Thank you," Nyiji breathed once she was nearing the safety of her room, her voice filled with nothing short of relief.

"Wouldn't thank me yet," Shachi told her as he jerked her past the converted medical closet and towards the galley. "Cause now you owe me one, and I am not eating another one of Mason's meals without a stomach pump."

Nyiji blinked and stared down at the redhead's tattooed arm, eyeing the familiar pattern inked onto his skin in white. ' _So, he does have the same tattoo as Law.'_ A few pirates glanced at them from their seats on the couch but didn't lift a finger to stop whatever was happening.

"You mean you want me to cook for you?" she asked.

"How sweet of you to offer!" Shachi teased, pressing a hand over his heart as he pretended to swoon in front of her.

Knowing a good deal when she saw it, Nyiji felt a smile pull at her mouth as she turned to take in the kitchen. "Well, what would you like to eat?" she asked.

Slapping his hands onto the counter, leaving a smudged outline of his prints behind, Shachi launched over the side and moved towards the refrigerator to check the contents. "You haven't eaten yet either, right?" he didn't need to pull his head free to know the answer as she shrugged and tried to brush off the question. "Well, seems like the best cure will be something fast and enough for the two of us—"

Glancing towards the group seated on the couches as they shouted, Nyiji stared at the men as they offered their input: "If she's cooking, we want some!"

Shachi answered them, head still in the fridge: "Ya, ya. There's food upstairs, go get it. This is _my_ personal slave, thank you very much. Oh, how does uh…bacon… sound? You _do_ eat bacon, right? You're not one of those… no, you eat bacon."

Walking around the counter to join the redhead in the kitchen, she peeked over his shoulder to eye the contents inside. The fridge wasn't well stocked, a sure sign that they were beginning to run low on supplies. "Is bacon really all you want?" she asked.

Straightening up and running a hand over the back of his neck, Shachi glanced at her with a sheepish smile. "Honestly anything is good. Think you could make something before Mace pops in though?"

Nodding, she got to work with collecting the small pack of bacon that he had requested along with a small carton of leftover eggs. Hopefully Mason wouldn't mind the ingredients going missing. While she prepped a small meal Shachi took the time to examine the young woman who had been the talk of the submarine since her arrival. He'd heard a number of things about her but had yet to confirm them for himself.

"So," Shachi started as he hauled himself up to sit on the counter beside her. "Tell me about yourself, buttercup. Let's be buddies."

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye but diligently kept to her task as she prepared his meal. "Buddies? You want to be friends with the prisoner?"

Though she'd said it as casually as possible in an attempt to keep the conversation light-hearted, it was clear that she held reservations towards him. Shachi grinned, completely unconcerned. "Well, you're buddies with my buddy. I figure, why should Pen get to keep you all to himself?"

' _There, a little crack of a smile!_ ' Slipping his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose to conceal his eyes once more, Shachi felt himself swell with pride. He couldn't wait to rub this in Penguin's face.

"Well, I suppose that's fair," she conceded. Turning away from him to deal with the bacon, she counted out six slices for the mechanic and two for herself. "Does that mean I get to ask questions of my own?"

He shrugged, attitude blasé. "If you want."

Bacon sizzled in the hot pan as it was laid over a small amount of butter. The two were quiet as each thought up their own series of questions. For Nyiji it seemed as if there was an endless number of things to ask, to know about him and his crew and yet not a single one seemed to be worth asking.

" _You don't want to know about their Captain?"_ a voice whispered near her. She resisted looking in its direction, not wishing to see the freckled smiling face of her deceased crewmate. Not again.

"Where'd you learn to cook?" Shachi finally decided to ask first, interrupting her thoughts.

Startled, she turned and faced him, wielding a pair of tongs like a weapon before flushing with embarrassment as a red eyebrow rose high over the frame of his sunglasses. To cover up the awkward moment, Nyiji turned her full focus back on the food and flipped the bacon over so it would cook evenly.

"My crewmate. He is the chef on our ship," chewing her lip in thought, she paused before continuing, "though I'm not sure where he learnt it all…"

Stealing a slice of bacon as it was set onto a small plate to cool, Shachi munched happily on the delicious meat. ' _Finally, something that isn't burnt!'_ he internally cheered. Behind him a few lingering crewmembers came over to inspect the plate over his shoulder, nostrils flared and hands at the ready. Before they could get their hands on his food however, Shachi quickly snatched it up and leapt off the counter to put some distance between them.

Dramatically pointing a finger towards Nyiji, he spoke with a mouthful of bacon: "Hey, _my slave_. You want some food, go upstairs!"

"Come on, that's not _food_ ," one answered, eyes glowering at the redhead.

"Could we rethink the term ' _slave_ '?" Nyiji asked the mechanic as he nearly bumped into her on his path to escape his friends.

Without sparing her a look, Shachi grinned and stuck his tongue out at the other men before he darted out of the kitchen while shouting: "No! Slave for life!"

She laughed, temporarily forgetting the disembodied voice at her side as she took in the Heart pirates playfully chasing one another around the galley for a chance at the plate of bacon. They were all so strange and clearly comfortable together, even though they were such an odd mix. It was surprising, she realized, that she felt just as comfortable as they acted. Fingertips gently finding her lips and hovering, she grew quiet with this internal realization.

A loud scream interrupted her brooding and drew her attention towards a pile of bodies as Shachi vanished beneath his crewmembers. With arms and legs tangled, the men shouted at each other, their voices combined and indistinguishable as they argued.

"You can't have it!" Someone screamed. A pale hand rose into the air immediately after, a single strip of bacon held in its grasp.

The pile seemed to move to absorb the hand and rolled until the bundle of men hit one of the couches, knocking it out of its symmetrical position. Unconsciously Nyiji turned away from the scene to add a few more strips of bacon to the pan.

"Whose cooking?" a voice called from the front of the galley. The man that had ushered her up the stairs earlier stood in the entrance, dwarfing a small group of pirates at his side.

In answer to the man's question, a Heart pirate escaped from the pile while clutching what appeared to be the last bacon strip. "Hah! I got it! The last piece!"

At the entrance, the taller man's head swivelled to examine the area, taking in Nyiji at the stove and then moving onto the dog pile as it separated and turned onto the freed member who was wielding his prize like a sword.

"Now, wait a second," the escaped pirate started, green eyes wide. "Shachi is the traitor, don't look at me like that."

"Prisoner cook that?" the man at the entrance asked, drawing everyone's attention.

"For me!" Shachi answered, freeing himself from a headlock. "You fuckers get nothing!"

Launching himself through the air, the redhead tackled his teammate around the middle and crashed to the floor as the two wrestled for the piece of bacon. Bumping against the couch again, the furniture's leg made a loud scraping noise as it scratched along the length of the floor. Ready to add fuel to the fire the men still standing joined the two on the ground, landing with a loud thump atop one another.

"I _am_ making more," Nyiji called to the group, hoping to settle the squabble. Her voice went unheard.

Turning back with a sigh to a second frying pan, she began to prepare the eggs she had pulled out while the last of the bacon cooked. A table flipped over as it was disturbed in the ruckus. Briefly, she wondered if that was why the room was such a mismanaged arrangement of various colors. Every time a piece of furniture broke, they were forced to settle for some ugly pattern or color that didn't match until all they were left with was a room of discordance. ' _Surely that couch was about to lose a leg if they kept throwing each other against it?'_

Right on time with her thoughts, the couch collapsed with a great cracking sound and slumped on one side to the floor. A familiar redhead rested on its cushions after being thrown. Thrusting a finger out to stop his incoming attacker short, Shachi cried: "You're dead!"

Frozen with the mechanic's finger inches before his nose, the crewmember narrowed his gaze and replied: "Well you fucking bit me! Who bites someone? A child!?"

About to respond, Shachi and the group were cut short by the sound of a plate being set down. Attention caught by the sweet smell of freshly cooked bacon and scrambled eggs, they all turned. Nyiji stood behind the counter, hands on her hips and gaze narrowed. "One at a time, or no one gets anything."

"Can she do that?" one of them whispered, glancing around.

"Do you want to take tha' chance?" another grumbled before he sourly made his way towards the counter. Behind him the rest trailed in a nice even line, their dispute ended.

Leaning over the countertop, Nyiji searched out Shachi in the line before she caught his attention. Pointing and hooking a finger towards him, she drew him over. "I'll serve you first, _if_ you tell me Penguin's real name."

The redhead grinned wickedly as he sauntered over, smacking a few crewmate's heads along the way. "That's your question? And you're ransoming food on top of it?" she nodded and he sighed, whispering in a conspiratorial manner to one of his crewmates, " _she's learning."_

Holding back a laugh and occupying herself with fixing him a small plate, Nyiji shook her head. Though she tried to hide it, it was obvious that she was enjoying his rambunctious personality. Coming to a stop in front of her, Shachi offered her a lopsided grin as she held the plate out. He was quick to grab it and snatch himself another slice of bacon before giving her an answer that sounded more like a question: "Beau?"

Brows scrunching up, she eyed the pirate as he took the plate from her. "Why did that sound like a lie?"

"Cause it was," he answered her flatly before he began to pile food into his mouth. "But you believed me for a second!"

Rolling her eyes and brushing the mechanic's behavior aside, she began to plate up the rest of the breakfast for the waiting lineup. There were only five others so each earned themselves two slices of bacon and a hearty amount of plump yellowed eggs before they wandered off, leaving the galley entirely. Once she and Shachi were alone again, she asked him where they kept their cleaning supplies. He referred her to the correct cabinets while he ate. The last thing they needed was for Mason to come down and discover that she had cooked in his kitchen.

"What are you going to do about the couch?" she asked as she scrubbed the frying pans in the sink.

Looking up from his food with an expression that could only be classified as confused, Shachi glanced at her before scanning the room. The broken couch was exactly where they had left it, lying slanted with its severed leg resting a short distance away. "Meh," he grunted, rolling a shoulder and turning back to his meal. "Their fault."

Setting the pan aside to dry, she moved onto the next dirty dish. "Will the others tell anyone I was cooking?"

Shachi gave a snort. "And risk Mason's wrath? Unlikely. You've got nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't worried," she lied.

Stabbing into his eggs with his fork, Shachi grinned without looking at her. "Sure you weren't," he scooped up a mouthful and swallowed before adding, "It's not nice to lie to friends, you know."

Turning away from the cleaned dishes, Nyiji leveled the man with an unimpressed stare. Finished eating he bounced towards her and handed over the dirty plate. _'So, it's like that, huh?_ ' she thought as she continued staring him down. He was certainly a devious individual. It made sense that he was Penguin's counterpart and best friend, they likely leveled one another out. Turning back to the sink, she missed the newcomer as he entered the galley.

Shachi, who had noticed, cheerfully greeted his friend: "Bambi! Lovely to see you today!"

"Bambi?" Penguin asked as he walked towards the duo, shooting a questioning look towards his friend as he noticed Nyiji cleaning behind the counter.

Looking over her shoulder to see who had spoken, she nearly dropped the plate in her hand as she spun on her heel and exclaimed with excitement: "Bambi!?"

Penguin mouthed the name once more, clearly confused. In response Shachi shrugged a shoulder and rolled his pointer finger at his temple while mouthing the word _'crazy'_ and gesturing towards her. Realizing he was caught in the action, he stilled and beamed towards her, acting as though he hadn't done a thing. "Sure, lets go with that."

Flicking a handful of suds at the redhead, Nyiji glowered and returned the dish to a drying stand.

"Seems like you two are getting along," Penguin said.

"Likes peaches and cream," Shachi answered and slung an arm over his friend's shoulders. "In fact, we had such a good time, we're thinking of making this a regular thing. Ah, imagine it, buttercup! Mornings together, you cook me breakfast, I eat. It would be such a happy life."

Grinning at the two, Penguin almost didn't want to interrupt the moment as Nyiji spun on her heel to try and strike at Shachi over the countertop. Playfully he jumped away from her, squealing like a little girl as he cried: "In front of Penguin? My! You're so forward!"

"Well, I hate to break this up, but Mason is on his way down—" before Penguin could finish speaking, Shachi snapped his fingers and made a beeline towards the exit.

"And that is my queue to leave!"

Nyiji was quick to exit the area as well, nervously wringing her hands together as Penguin gestured for her to follow him out. As the two walked together down the hallway they stopped at his room, slipping inside just as the blonde chef appeared in the hallway.

"I'm surprised he didn't catch us in there," Nyiji whispered as she closed the door behind them, glad that she had missed the man with seconds to spare.

Smiling at her, Penguin moved around in his room as he sorted through an array of shirts that littered the floor. The entire space was a chaotic mess. He sniffed a few to judge their wearability before finding one that smelt clean enough. "I am too, honestly. Could smell bacon up on deck."

Turning to face him, she watched as Penguin unzipped his boiler suit to change his shirt for something fresher. "Hey, where's your hat?" she asked.

Awkwardly tousling his hair, Penguin answered her with a nonchalant shrug. It was quite hot that day, felt by everyone on board, so he had left his hat somewhere in the room and lost it amongst the mess. "Trying something new today," he said instead and picked up a pair of shorts from the floor that would keep him cool.

Cracking a smile at his spotted pineapple shorts that looked remarkably like swimming trunks, Nyiji teased: "It works."

Clearly pleased with her compliment the Heart pirate shook his white hair out and struck a pose, narrowly missing knocking over items on the dresser. However, when he flailed, thinking that he had knocked them over, he ended up accidentally clearing the contents atop the dresser. Struggling to right the objects, concerned he might have broken them, his face turned a shade of scarlet.

"Could you, uh, pretend you didn't see that?" he asked meekly.

"Course. Do you want me to wait outside?"

Still holding the shorts in one hand, he flushed. It seemed he had completely forgotten she was still in the room with him while he was changing. "Uh, no. I can—I'm good!" he stuttered before throwing the shorts onto the bed. "So, uh, how are you doing?"

Recalling the uncomfortable looks he had sent her earlier when they were on the deck, Nyiji shifted nervously. Her fingers found the collar of the boiler suit that she had borrowed and tugged it nervously up against her throat as if it had revealed the true state of her body.

"Oh, I'm sorry—I just meant… it's hot out, are you comfortable?" he floundered to correct himself. Turning to face the mess in his room, he began to pick out some lighter and clean clothes for her. "I can find something for you, if you want."

"I'm okay in this," she told him and reached out to gently touch his arm, stalling his rushed movements. "But thank you for worrying. I'll let you get changed."

Without waiting for his input, she fled into the hallway, shutting the door behind her to wait. It didn't take him long to exit in the pineapple shorts, comfortably dressed for the heat encroaching on the submarine. "Why don't you come up to the deck with us?" he suggested, bashfully keeping his eyes focused anywhere but on her.

Against her better judgement which was to hide in the safety of her closet turned bedroom, she agreed and followed him upstairs, passing the galley where the chef stood in a complete panic as he examined the countertop. Outside the afternoon sun was reaching its height and a small feast of barbecue had been prepared. Numerous lounge chairs sat near the western side of the deck, filled up with pirates who were content to talk amongst themselves. When the two stepped into the fray, Penguin found them a spot near Shachi who was currently chatting up their Captain and Navigator, enthusiastically waving his arms around as he talked.

"Do you want something to eat?" Penguin asked her after she had taken a seat beside the table.

Pulling her eyes away from the group and the giant ball of white fur, Nyiji shook her head to decline. "That's alright."

"Have you eaten today?" he asked, eyes soft and filled with more worry than he wanted to express.

An uncomfortable air hung between them as they stared at one another, neither wanting to really address the issue at hand. She knew he was worried about her health and her poor eating habits, and was still filled with questions about what had transpired on Jiyan. Since she had returned with their Captain, she had done everything in her power to hold back her feelings and suppress the pain and confusion broiling within. This meant that many topics had been avoided. Talking about the island, about her crew and Alistair… it was too difficult. She had to know the truth of everything before she could face it. Unintentionally she had laid a line between the events that happened and where she was now, and she had no intention to cross it anytime soon; besides, she had already cried in front of him, not to mention choosing to stay on the submarine. Lying to Penguin about eating, she sent him away to get some food for himself. _'Better that than him fussing and worrying over me,'_ she thought.

As he walked away, she stared at his back, fixated on the way his snow-white hair transformed into black in the blink of an eye. His height increased and his shoulders shrunk until she was no longer looking at Penguin but at Killian. Instinctively she stood, her body moving on its own accord to reach the man she had grown up with when a body stepped in her path. The false image gone from sight, she blinked and looked up to see the Heart's Captain standing in front of her.

"Trafalgar!"

Opening his mouth to respond, Law was cut short as a wail sounded below deck, the noise rattling out of an open tube. Inclining his head, he glanced at the submarine's open entrance to see Mason appear. He looked absolutely furious, face pink and eyes wild. His curly hair looked as if he had run his hands through it without stop and his chest was heaving with short breaths.

"Who was it!? WHO!?" he cried as he looked wildly at everyone on deck.

"Mason, what's wrong?" Law called to his chef.

Gasping and spluttering, he worked out a sentence: "H-hand—there's a god—ugh, oh god," swallowing back the vomit in his mouth, Mason tried to get through explaining the situation. "On my counter! Someone—urk—put their _hands_ on _my_ counter! My kitchen! Someone _touched_ it."

Law stared at him, not sure if the tirade was finished or not before the chef added in a much calmer voice: "And the couch is broken."

Nyiji heard a sigh escape the Captain as he fixed the brim of his hat, temporarily shielding his eyes from sight. With his expression hidden it was impossible to tell whether he was upset or not. She had assumed from Shachi's earlier blasé response that a broken couch was a normal occurrence and therefore nothing to get that worked up over. The few weeks she had been allowed to interact with the pirates had also revealed Mason's penchant for dramatics. So, Trafalgar's response might have simply been his way of letting the situation roll off his shoulders. Chewing her lip in worry, Nyiji caught his shadowed gaze. His bright yellow eyes were fixated on her, reminding her of their first meeting and the dangerous aura currently emanating from him. Instinctively she took a step back to put some distance between them. This appeared to be the response he was waiting for as his lips took on a small curve and he reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, drawing her back towards him.

She felt like jelly as she weakly moved under his force, bumping into his body when his arm drew across her shoulders and held her to his side. "Something to share?" he asked her, voice low so no one would overhear them.

She gaped at him before finding her voice, spluttering out a feeble: "No."

Law grinned down at her, fingers pinched on the brim of his hat before he adjusted the visor for a better look at his chef who was moving around the deck, practically assaulting everyone with the order to raise their hands so he could investigate their palms. Without tearing his eyes away, he teased her: "Funny, cause I figured you'd have a few stories about your adventures on the third floor for me."

The gasp of surprise barely left her lips before she had sucked it back in. The heat coming from his body warmed her side and his arm gave her a gentle squeeze that lured her closer, his head dipping low until their faces were aligned.

"Oh? Not going to deny it?"

Cheeks enflamed, Nyiji timidly shook her head. She had grown up and learnt well from Alistair's hand that if you made a mistake, you took the hit with grace rather than condemn yourself to a deeper grave. If Trafalgar was going to get angry with her, punish her in whatever way he wished, she would simply have to accept it and hope that it wasn't as terrible as her imagination.

"Come on, hands up! No! don't touch me with them, god dammit! Just hold them up! At a distance!" Mason cried in the background.

Ignoring his wailing chef, Law hummed as he turned them towards the table where Penguin stood clutching a plate of food. With his free hand, he reached out and took the plate from his subordinate, giving him a brief nod of thanks before transferring the dish into Nyiji's hands. She looked startled.

"Wait, what's this for?" she asked him as she looked down at the chicken wings smothered in sauce. They looked surprisingly edible.

"To eat," Law answered her before he regarded Penguin who was fixing another plate. "Thanks Pen."

Penguin beamed at the two and dug into a chicken wing, smearing sauce over his mouth. "Sure thing, but Cap'n, you might want to stop Mason before he strangles someone."

Looking over Nyiji's head, Law spotted his chef now rounding towards Shachi. The mechanic relaxed against the submarine's railing, appearing to be completely unaffected by the blonde screaming in his face.

"Come on Mace, you know I wouldn't do anything to your kitchen."

"Hands up," Mason repeated, completely relentless in his search. With a great sigh as if he were being put out, Shachi raised both palms flat towards him. The chef scanned his palms, resembling a bug behind his spectacles.

A minute past where the two continued their staring match. It was obvious that the mechanic had been caught red-handed. To break the uncomfortable tension that was brewing and save himself, Shachi thrust a pointer finger towards Nyiji and cried: "She cooked in your kitchen!"

She felt her heart skip a beat and painfully relocate from her chest to her throat as she stilled beneath the arm that held her. Mason's back was to her, disguising whatever rage had taken over his features but from the slightly nervous shift coming from Shachi, she could guess it was a frightening sight to behold.

"Alright, that's enough," came an unexpected voice above her head, drawing her eyes up towards Law as he addressed his chef. The blonde turned to face his Captain. "I'll deal with it."

Nudging Nyiji into movement, Law escorted her towards the submarine's recesses, leaving behind the commotion before it broke out. A headache was sitting ready, hovering just near his temples. Pulling the door closed behind them the corridor became washed in shadow, creating a barrier between them and the deck.

"I'm sorry," Nyiji blurted when she couldn't stand the silence any longer.

He squinted at her from beneath his hat before removing it. Black hair stuck up in all directions, further mussed as he ran a hand through it and squeezed. "We'll talk about that in a moment. Let's go to my chambers."

Practically sprinting ahead of him, Nyiji reached his door before him and pulled the heavy metal open. Moving out of the way, she let him enter first before hovering near the door with uncertainty. Alistair would have punished her right away, without a moment's hesitation. His rage could blind him sometimes. How would Trafalgar deal with her for breaking his rules? For going into an area that he had marked restricted and for cooking in Mason's kitchen?

"Relax, Puppy-ya," Law called from within the room as he took a seat at his desk and began rifling through drawers. "We have things of more importance to discuss before you break into another panic attack."

"I don't have panic attacks!" she fired back and stepped into the room; a fist clenched defensively at her side.

His eyebrow arched and he looked up from a drawer to stare at her for a moment. "Oh? So, you are of perfect mental health?"

She winced at the verbal slap but didn't dare pull her eyes from his stare down. "You assume I am weak willed and weak of mind then—"

Interrupting her as he slapped a small stack of papers on the desk, Law set his palms down and immediately brushed her argument off: "I don't _assume_ a thing of you, Puppy-ya, and I've yet to decide what I think of you. Now, if you're quite finished, we have business to discuss."

She physically wavered a moment before heaving a great sigh. "Fine," striding towards his desk, Nyiji glanced at his papers and asked: "Have you found out what those chemical readings were for?"

Reclining into his chair he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No."

Setting down the plate of food and reaching out, Nyiji's fingers hovered over the documents as she quietly asked for permission to look at them. Squeezing his eyes shut and grunting was the only answer he gave her. She took it to mean he was fine with her perusing. At the top of the stack sat the journal clippings; she didn't need to read it again to recall the words. They were still etched at the forefront of her mind. Law's exhale drew her eyes from the sheets and she frowned. His skin was looking shades lighter than normal, even in the dim lighting of his room.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

One eyelid cracked open and a dull yellow stared back at her. "How does your Captain obtain jobs in the first place?" he asked her instead of answering, dodging the topic of his health. He would be fine just as soon as he solved this puzzle.

Her lips twisted together as she thought of her answer. The journal clippings that she had wanted to avoid suddenly felt so enthralling. If she was honest it could send him sailing right back towards her Captain; in truth, it might save him a lot more time. She knew she was useless, but there had to be a way around their predicament. Some way that she could help.

"He had a personal transponder snail," she finally admitted. "It connected to someone that would call us with details, depending on our location…"

Law was quiet and still as he digested her response. Internally, Nyiji cursed and cussed herself for telling him the truth. Stepping from her blind spot to lean against Trafalgar's desk, Owens appeared to sarcastically voice her thoughts. " _What happened to, 'I don't know'?"_

She jumped and stared at the ghost, surprised that his image had returned to haunt her. Seeing him again felt like an emotional slap to the face and she forced herself to look at the journal and focus on its words as if they were a life-preserver. If she showed Trafalgar that she was hallucinating her dead crewmate it would only prove his earlier point. And if that meant ignoring Owens as he stalked her from the grave, and forgetting that she had temporarily seen Killian's image take the place of someone else, she could do that. All to prove a point. She could manage her own mind. She could win this internal war.

"Did you frequent any location in particular?" Law finally asked after he had sorted his thoughts through the blossoming migraine. Everything felt too bright with colors sparkling within the room, so he kept his eyelids shut.

"D-do you have a map?" she stuttered the question. "There were some places we went to on more than one occasion."

Swiveling in his chair, Law vanished behind the back of the furniture piece as he crouched to collect a map from a lower drawer in his desk. When he turned back around, he spread the map out along the desks surface and held the corners down to give her the best view. The map was at best a crude sketch, made up of squiggles meant to be islands and splotches of color to designate height elevations and bodies of water.

"Tell me about the merchants you dealt with," he asked as she looked over the islands, her fingers stilling over various locations with great distances between them. It would be a royal pain to travel that far for nothing. "Would any of them trust you if you arrived on your own, without your Captain?"

Without realizing it, Nyiji had crumpled the journal in her hand into a tight fist at her side. One finger still hovered over an old island, but no longer did it seek them out with determination. "I can manage if they don't."

"That's not the point," he sighed and removed his hands to let the map curl back up. "We need a contact that will talk to you, one guaranteed to have something we can use. Unless you are one-hundred percent certain, I'm not wasting the trip."

She felt her head bob in acknowledgement but felt too focused on his words to properly respond. Owens was still standing near them and the room reeked of smoke and pine, the temperature sky-rocketing by the minute. ' _Is it hot because of the summer heat or because of Owens?'_

"Was there anyone involved with whomever your Captain spoke to about jobs? Someone that received information ahead of time?"

" _You're putting a lot of trust into this guy,"_ Owens commented as he walked behind Law's chair, briefly examining the Captain's face before turning away. " _Why him, Pup?"_

Law was beginning to grow impatient as she continued standing before him, eyes burning a hole into the rolled-up map as if it was still stretched out before her. He didn't want to interrupt her thought process while they were in the middle of such an important topic, but the migraine was beginning to make his ears ring. Even the sound of her breathing was too loud against his eardrums. Squinting at her, he reached out and gestured towards the wrinkled pages in her hand.

Glancing up, she blinked at him a few times before realizing what he was asking for. "Oh."

Dumbly handing over the sheets of paper, she watched Law toss them onto the desk, ignoring her delayed response. "Don't bother me until you figure it out then. Just go back to your room."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Nyiji asked again when she noticed him wince. She wasn't sure if the concern for his health she was feeling was real or if it was an aversion tactic on her own behalf, but it felt like a better topic of conversation than discussing her punishment or listing the number of people her crew had ever come into contact with.

When his gaze turned on her, filled with a brewing irritation that promised she would be the first one on the receiving end of his temper should she keep questioning him, Nyiji backed away and held a hand up in mock surrender. "I'll consider your questions and try to think of someone that can assist us."

Heading towards the door, she was stopped when he softly called her back: "Puppy-ya, aren't you forgetting something?"

Glancing over her shoulder she spotted him holding the plate of wings up. His irritated expression had morphed into something she was more familiar with. ' _Smug son of bitch.'_

Walking back to his desk she reached for the offered plate but just as she tried to take it, Law pulled it out of reach to draw her closer. "I haven't forgotten your little exploration, _or_ your intrusions into the kitchen without permission. But consider this a temporary mercy."

"You're not going to punish me?" She gaped at him, eyes large and innocent.

His lips curled up as he answered, his features and tone giving nothing away of his plans: "I never said that."

Releasing the plate of food and watching her struggle to keep the plate's balance, he let her stumble back to freedom and felt a small sliver of satisfaction as she bolted from the room. When he was alone again and free from prying eyes, Law tended to his headache the best way he knew how by drawing a small bottle of amber liquid from a locked drawer in his desk. Reclining into his seat he nursed the bottle.

Outside of the Captain's quarters, Nyiji fled down the corridor and stairs to return her room, heart pounding with every step. Slamming the door closed, she pressed herself against it and slid to the floor.

"He didn't punish me," she whispered.

" _Yet,"_ Owens reminded her. " _You remember that he isn't your Captain, right, Pup?"_

She ignored the ghost's presence even though his words left her with a haunting reminder. "If you aren't going to help me then just go away," she told the apparition.

Squatting before her, Owens grinned and pointed to her clutched palms. " _I think you've already helped yourself, Pup."_

Having escaped her notice, Nyiji realized that she had taken one of the papers from Law's quarters and crumpled it into her palm. Blinking and clearing the surprise from her mind, she gently unfolded the page to read its contents.

"Ishi Ishi no Mi," she started to read the black and white print aloud, its familiar words returning. "Capable of manifesting a physical representation of the user's willpower. Frequent usage reports—"

Stopping her exploration of the page, Nyiji looked up towards her deceased crewmember. "Why did I take this?" she asked him as if he had all the answers.

" _You tell me,"_ he answered as vaguely as possible. " _Oi, oi, Pup. Don't give me that look. You're smart enough to figure it out on your own."_

Looking down at the page she had seen days ago, she took her time absorbing every paragraph and scribbled note about her Devil Fruit until it was memorized. Whoever had written this document had spent a lot of time going over the fruit's simplistic nature and yet commented on various 'possibilities' that the fruit opened up for them. It made little sense to her. The wording was strange and erratic, making it impossible to understand without clarification from the author. They felt like the thoughts of a madman. A quiet little laugh filtered into the room and Nyiji darted up to her feet, grasping her hair and pulling harshly at her scalp to keep the memories away.

"One, three, seven, twelve," she started to count, increasing her total faster than her mind could keep up with.

Every time she felt herself falling back towards a memory that she didn't want to touch, she would snap her fingers and smack her thighs, counting all the while. The abrupt noises would interrupt her harsh thoughts, giving her enough time to calm down until eventually she was flat on her back, letting tears track down her cheeks.

Prepared for a long night, Nyiji breathed out her next number: "Forty-two."

* * *

 _Author's note; apologies for the super long delay between posts, I have been working on writing later content/chapters for this story to stay ahead of my posts. As such, the next chapter might come out a little later too but I'll try not to keep you waiting too long._

 _Thank you again everyone for the continued favorites/follows and reviews! Kaytak1999 and the guest reviewer 'Yells at trees', you two are awesome! (Also, I love your name, 'yells at trees', it made me chuckle.) My cat, Helena is doing much better now, thank you everyone that asked and worried! she has gotten a clean bill of health after numerous vet visits. It's a big relief. :)_

 _And I swear for all the pranks and fearful behavior I throw towards Bepo, I do love that minkman haha. There will be a lot of character development to come between he and Nyiji, it's one of my favorite relationships to write.  
I love that Mason has gone over so well with everyone too! I hope everyone continues to enjoy reading this story just as much as I enjoy writing it!_


	11. Chapter Eleven

A thin line of light poured into the room from a space beneath the closed closet door, highlighting the figure on the floor. Cross legged with her hands cupping the air, Nyiji ignored this light as she attempted to produce her own. Eyes focused on the tips of her fingers with single minded determination, she glared and continued to struggle. Since returning from Jiyan she had been unable to recreate the protective light upon command but couldn't find an answer as to why. No matter how many times she asked or demanded, her devil fruit just refused to respond. ' _Ishi Ishi no Mi,'_ she recalled, ' _if you will it, it will be.'_

With a frustrated exhale, her hands fell from the air and slapped her bare thighs. The shirt she had slept in was oversized, acting as a gown, but really provided little coverage. "Well I'm doing it! I'm _willing_ it!" she yelled. "So, do _something!_ "

A familiar chuckle caught her right ear and on instinct, she nearly turned towards it. "No one's there," she reprimanded herself.

" _Oi, oi Pup. That's not nice. I'm here to help."_

' _You're a figment of my imagination,'_ she thought, squeezing her eyelids closed until she was certain that she was alone again.

Her gut churned as she refocused her attention onto her hands, staring so intently one might think they would burst into flames at any moment. Every flip of her stomach felt like a red herring, tricking her into believing her fruit was about to respond only for nothing to happen. After another ten minutes had gone by and with her patience exhausted, she threw herself onto her back with a heavy sigh. Killian would have reprimanded her for giving up. ' _Well, he would be pissed for a lot more than just that.'_

A slight shine caught her eye and she tilted her head up to stare at the hammock overhead. Its crisscrossed ropes left shadows over her face. Reaching up and tangling her fingers over her father's spyglass, she forced a smile. "I'm sorry dad," she apologized. "I should be prouder of my decision, right?"

Letting her eyelids slip closed, she squeezed the spyglass as her tired mind began to run away from her. After escaping Trafalgar's chambers without a punishment, she had spent the rest of the day inside her room mulling over everyone the Rook pirates had ever come into contact with. It was easier thinking about these strangers rather than her current predicament, though it did lead her dangerously close to thinking about Alistair. Whatever the reality was, she feared it. The fact she was even entertaining the possibility of her Captain selling her and allowing Cyrus to be used as some kind of test subject, made her feel sick. It was apart of the reason she had spent hours attempting to practice using her newfound abilities.

"He wouldn't do any of it," she reaffirmed.

Releasing the spyglass and picking at the small fraying knots on the hammock, she tugged and pulled. The spyglass rolled with the movement before gently knocking against her knuckles right as an idea struck her. Abruptly she sat up, eyes wide. There was someone, maybe even a perfect someone to prove Alistair's innocence. Someone that could confirm that all of her thoughts, all of Trafalgar's beliefs, were nothing more than misguided assumptions. Springing up from the floor with renewed vigor, Nyiji threw herself from her bedroom and hurried up to the top level of the submarine. Stumbling a few times in her excitement but having already grown quite familiar with the route to Trafalgar's quarters, she found herself in front of his door in no time. Banging an eager fist against the steel, she waited a few moments for his call to signal that she could enter before bursting into the darkened front room.

"Trafalgar?" she called out, scanning the empty and unlit room.

A muffled reply came from her immediate left and she turned to face the open archway that led into his bedroom just as a light flickered on, temporarily blinding her. Blinking the spots away revealed Trafalgar climbing from his bed, just roused from sleep by her abrupt appearance, hair sticking up in a hundred directions. His fingers were ghosting away from a lamp that sat on a bedside table, briefly drawing her eyes towards the tattoos on his hands.

Rubbing the heel of his palm against his eye, Law yawned and focused on the figure standing at the front door to his quarters. "Any idea what time it is?" he mumbled as he threw the blanket away from his legs. "What do you want, Puppy-ya?"

Embarrassed, Nyiji tore her eyes away from the man's tattooed chest before she could be caught staring, to give him a moment to dress. A porthole to the far right of his bed shone with a barely risen sun, pulling her sleepy mind towards it as she blinked with confusion. ' _Have I been awake all night?'_ She could have sworn it was still evening. Immediately she felt bad for waking him so early.

Clearing her throat, she apologized: "I'm sorry—I, I thought you would be awake."

She heard him grunt, followed by footfalls as he neared her while affixing a clean white shirt to his chest. From her peripherals she caught him placing that familiar spotted hat onto his head in a sweeping gesture while stifling another yawn. Deep dark circles were set underneath his eyes.

"I'm awake now," he admitted as he passed her and gestured for the main door to be closed. "So, what is it you want?"

Feeling terrible about waking the man when he obviously needed his rest, Nyiji got straight to her reasoning for interrupting him: "Have you ever been to Holfield?"

Suddenly much more awake than he had been seconds ago, Law's eyes fell onto her, his liquid gold irises calculating as he took in her own messy appearance as she finally shut the door as requested. It was obvious that she had rushed into his room without thinking, leaving her unbraided hair to fall around her and wearing nothing but a nightshirt that most women wouldn't be comfortable showing themselves in while around ' _strange men.'_

"I've heard of the place, everyone has. But no, I've never been," making another gesture towards the couch to let her know it was safe to sit, Law slumped into the cushions opposite her. He would definitely need a cup of coffee early that morning. "What about it?"

Getting right to it, she started: "One of the merchants there, he used to provide us with shipments and drop-off locations. But he always had the information without Alistair ever contacting him. I think he might be the best person to start with."

"Did he supply you with the materials going to Jiyan?" he asked.

Shaking her head, she finally took up a seat on the opposite couch. "No, I'm not sure of how to contact that agent, but… this is a good place to start, isn't it?"

Law made a small noise of agreement before lifting himself off of the couch and crossing the room towards his desk. Flipping the lid off of the speaker's tube on the wall, he called for Bepo and apologized to the minkman for waking him so early. His friend squeaked back a small dismissal, completely unbothered by the early hour. Law continued to ramble, instructing him on the coordinates of their newest destination.

"And make sure everyone writes up their shopping lists," he added, almost as if it were an after thought.

The tube called back an affirmative before firing back with a question: "Will you be coming down for breakfast, sir?"

Running his golden eyes over the room as he considered his decision, Law paused when he spotted Nyiji practically vibrating on his couch with energy. Clearly, she would be awake for hours to come and had more to say to him. "Bring up two meals, the prisoner will be with me," he answered Bepo.

The minkman made a noise of understanding before the tube fell silent. Nyiji's lips pursed upon hearing the label ' _prisoner_ ' again, but otherwise kept herself silent until the Captain had flipped the tube's lid closed. After that, her tongue found its rhythm once more: "Do you have to call me that?"

"Prisoner, _Puppy-ya_?" his voice was practically dripping with derision. She shouldn't have woken him up this early, she realized. "Have you forgotten already?"

Knowing better than to antagonize a man this early in the morning—something she had learnt after years of living with Alistair—Nyiji withheld her sarcasm to fight another day and instead offered Law a quiet, "Thank you" that threw him off guard.

Visibly confused by the unexpected remark, Law's dark eyes fixated on her from underneath the rim of his hat, swirling with unanswered questions he wasn't sure he wanted to ask. "Thank you?" he repeated after a moment's pause, hoping that she would elaborate further.

When she only beamed at him, her mouth twisting up into a genuine smile and eyes slanting closed, he nearly physically recoiled—only able to keep his standing position due to the wall at his back.

' _It's too early for this,'_ he grumpily thought before he strode over to her and rest a hand on her forehead, giving her a quick push back into the couch with the hopes that it would remove that ecstatic grin of hers. "Go wash up before breakfast. We'll talk business after."

Seated lower than him, Nyiji was unable to hide the way her smile twisted into a dark grin upon hearing his surly tone. Tilting her head up she caught his gaze. The position allowed her to see his face quite clearly, even with his attempts to hide beneath his hat as he glared. "What's wrong, Trafalgar? Can't handle a woman smiling at you?" she teased.

A noise that could only be described as a snort escaped Law as he turned away from her, resolved to return to his bedroom to regain some of his lost privacy. He should have known better than to give Uni the night off. If he hadn't, the woman wouldn't be in here so early, baiting him to step over the thin line he had already drawn.

Waving a dismissive hand over his shoulder, he called back to her with a lackluster command: "Go wash up, Puppy-ya."

As he disappeared around the corner to his bedroom Nyiji decided to take the man's dismissal for what it was _, an order_ , and made her way to the bathroom. She had been avoiding using the room since he had revoked her usage of the communal showers on the floor below but admittedly couldn't wait any longer to slip into a warm bath. She hated the feeling of grime on her body, and the coat of sweat that clung underneath her collar and the additional weight of her hair when it was heavy with grease. Simply washing herself with a cloth in the sink wasn't cutting it anymore.

Making sure to lock the bathroom door behind her, Nyiji filled the tub. When the water had gotten high enough, she let her upper half drape over the tubs lip while her hand hung beneath the waters stream. Eyes closed and trying to adjust to the feeling of drowning whenever she came into contact with the water, she held her breath as her energy was quickly swept away. By the time the tub was completely filled, she could barely lift herself off of the side. This was still improvement over her last few trials. So far, she had learnt that sitting in a tub of water was easier to handle than a shower. Perhaps because of a lack of movement on the waters part and that a still bucket was easier than a running faucet. No matter the struggle, it wouldn't keep her from trying to overcome the effects of her devil fruit.

When her bath was finished, she unlocked and exited the bathroom to discover the front room was filled up with familiar bodies, all lounging around the seating area or leaning against the wall. Embarrassingly she hadn't realized until after her bath that the only attire she had with her was a nightshirt and so upon seeing the large group, she leapt back into the bathroom with a surprised squeak. A few of the men that had caught a glimpse of her appearance held their tongues and played ignorance until their Captain re-entered from his bedroom.

"Think the Miss is finished," one of the pirates spoke up, directing their Captain's attention towards the closed bathroom door with a pointed finger.

Barely tilting his chin in acknowledgement, Law moved to his desk where a boiler suit had been folded up for just this moment. Rapping his knuckles on the door once, he held the garment out without looking. Her hand reached out from the door, fast like a snake lunging at their prey before she was gone again.

Swiveling on his heel, he finally addressed his crew's presence for the morning reports: "What's on the agenda today?"

Sitting up a little straighter, Penguin waved a thin binder towards his Captain that was accepted and perused. "We're doing alright, but if we're hitting port somewhere soon, I wouldn't mind picking up some more materials for the engine."

Nodding his head, Law flipped a few pages in the binder before turning his attention towards his chef. "And the food supply?"

Mason, who sat without a binder in his lap adjusted his thick rounded glasses nervously. "I'm still working on the counts."

Offering a passing frown Law moved onto the next crewmate just as the bathroom door cracked open. As the men carried on talking, Nyiji slipped out and tried to make her way to the front door only to find her way blocked as a body slid itself into her path. Arms crossed over his chest, her eyes drew up and grimaced as she recognized Uni underneath a blue checkered bandana.

"Goin' somewhere?" he asked her, voice deep but spoken low so their conversation wouldn't interrupt the group.

"My room," she answered flatly as she tried to slip past him again. He blocked her at every turn, constantly stepping in front of her. "Is there something I can help you with?" she finally grumped, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Law couldn't have been happier to watch the situation from the sidelines, glad that it was her turn to experience some frustration. Reaching out to collect a small handful of finger foods off of the coffee table, he did his best to focus on the conversation around him as he snacked and kept an eye on the argument brewing by the front door.

"—We are going to need a refill on that when we dock."

"Is it in the binder?" Law asked, flashing a look towards his subordinate.

He saw Penguin nod even though a few of the men verbally disagreed as they shuffled amongst themselves to check their own binders and papers to find out if anyone had written it down. Miming the letter three, Penguin watched his Captain as he checked the binder in his hand to find the written note exactly where it was supposed to be. Pleased that his friend had been aware enough to notice when he wasn't paying attention, Law rubbed more sleep from his eyes and nodded with thanks.

"If that's all?" he drawled, eyes searching the room.

The group nodded as a whole before settling into their spots, rather than making a move to leave. They didn't seem the least bit concerned about intruding on their Captain's personal space either, as they took up turns picking at the large meal that had been setup on the coffee table. Some of them even fought over a few select choices of bacon like siblings. This was another dramatic difference between the Heart and the Rook pirates, Nyiji noted. Unlike Trafalgar, her Captain had never been keen on sharing his space with the crew unless it was absolutely required. His quarters were always off limits and very rarely did they ever see him join them for breakfast. Alistair preferred to delegate his interactions, leaving either Owens or Cyrus to keep the crew in line.

"You should take a seat and eat," Uni advised her, still preventing her escape from the room.

Shifting awkwardly in a boiler suit that matched the crews, Nyiji accepted that she had no other course of action but to join the feasting group. Heeding Uni's instructions but first sticking her tongue childishly out at him, she took up a spot beside Penguin before the fishman could swipe at her.

Penguin grinned as she sunk into the couch beside him, their shoulders knocking into each other and offered her a bowl of rice porridge that she gratefully took. "How are you feeling today?" he asked.

"Mixed," she answered shyly. Reaching out, she flicked the red ball of yarn that rested atop the penguin hat on his head. "I'm thinking I should start wearing your hat though. Really blend in."

"Pretty sure Yusuke would die without it," Shachi added as he entered their conversation by slinging his arms over their shoulders. "You'd see his bald spot."

"I don't have a bald spot!" Penguin snapped and reached out to punch his friend.

Shachi withdrew before the hit could connect and bounced around the couch until he was standing in front of them. He seemed to be in a good mood as he stood rocking on his heels and smiling, hands in the pockets of his boiler suit.

Glancing between the two, Nyiji pursed her lips in thought before she asked: "Is that his real name?"

Penguin's eyebrows immediately creased as he stared at her, his confusion growing by the second. "No. Wait—Shachi, what the hell? That's why you've been calling me by random names this whole time?"

"She wanted to know!" Shachi defended himself. "But I'll be honest. His name is really Tank."

"Obviously a lie," Nyiji remarked.

Noticing the slight pull of her lips as she suppressed a smile, the redhead shot his friend a little wink before he threw himself between them on the couch, wiggling his hips until they scooted far enough apart to allow him a seat. "You know, if the Captain didn't have dibs, I'd wife this woman."

Out of nowhere Penguin rounded on him and punched him in the leg. The sound of his fist connecting made Nyiji wince as the redhead doubled over and howled with pain while clutching his thigh. Taking advantage of his position, Penguin then pushed him off of the couch.

"Uncalled for!" Shachi cried from the floor. Thrusting a finger out, he opened his mouth to continue yelling when a shadow fell over his form. "Oh, hey Captain. How's it going?"

"Bepo needs some extra hands today. I volunteered your time, since you have so much of it."

Catching onto the hidden meaning behind his Captain's words, Shachi grinned and hastily scrambled off of the floor. Making sure to steal a couple rice balls to go, he flashed the room a playful bow before exiting. The door slammed shut behind him, startling Nyiji from her daze. Nearly spilling the bowl of porridge in her hands, she set it down.

"Puppy-ya," hearing her name being called she looked towards Law just in time to catch a small orange as it was thrown her way. "I'd suggest eating quickly."

"Quickly?" she asked as she peeled the orange and separated it into individual slices. Juice trickled down her hand that she quickly sucked away.

"Yes. Since you wanted to explore without my permission, I thought you would appreciate cleaning the entire submarine. Top to bottom. Help satiate some of that curiosity," Law answered.

Immediately reminded of the punishment she had avoided the day before, Nyiji bashfully dropped her head as the entire room turned their eyes on her. She had assumed that she would receive something a lot worse than just simple cleaning. After all, he'd had no problems with starving her in a cell upon their first encounter. This was relatively mild in comparison. Accepting her fate, she nodded and quickly devoured the rest of her orange before getting up to her feet.

"I can watch her today," Penguin offered as he quickly pushed himself off of the couch. "Give Uni a break."

"There's no need," Uni interrupted his crewmate, a wicked grin hiding beneath the bandana on his face. Taking a step forward to stand behind the couch, he crossed his arms over his chest and added: "I'm not watching her today."

Turning in surprise, Nyiji eyed the fishman's devious expression before realization hit her. "Who?" she dumbly asked.

"I will be. Care to get started?" Law answered, a matching grin of his own in place.

Penguin dropped back into his seat without another word and shot Nyiji a look that could only be described as apologetic. Offering him a small smile in return and flicking the red pom that sat atop his hat, she turned and snatched up an orange before heading for the doorway. There was no need to postpone her punishment and linger in a room full of strangers, each questioning her with their eyes, curious about what exactly she had done. Besides, it was her own fault and there was no reason for Penguin to pity her. ' _I can handle it,'_ she told herself as she mentally prepared for a long day.

"Clean up in here when you're all finished," Law ordered as he slipped out of his quarters, hot on her heels.

The men inside shouted their agreement before returning to their breakfast. Slipping out of the room alongside the two, Uni followed them towards a door that Nyiji had never entered only to produce a set of keys on a ring. Unlocking the door, he tipped a nod to his Captain before departing.

"What's in there?" Nyiji asked as she peered around Law's shoulder.

Before he opened the door, Law's hand froze on the doorknob. Glancing down at the top of her head, he asked: "What do you think is in there?"

A locked room on the first floor and close to the Captain's quarters meant the space had some significance to the entire submarine. It could have been another room for storage, but the fact it was under lock and key left her feeling unsure. Even the room full of weapons on the third floor hadn't been locked up. Pursing her lips, Nyiji glanced up and down the hallway. He had kept his crew on the second floor, so she doubted the space belonged to anyone else. ' _Surgeon of Death. Yes, that has to have some significance here.'_

It would make sense with its prime location that the room had something to do with his epitaph and since she hadn't found anything medically related hidden in the submarine, she could safely assume the room could fit into that category. ' _A sick room, maybe?'_ she thought before dismissing the idea. Usually those rooms were kept accessible in case of an emergency. That left her wondering about their medical stores. Penguin had told her that her converted room had once housed their medicine, so it was possible that those stores had been moved upstairs and put behind a secure door.

Settled on her answer, she voiced her observations: "I can assume it's medically related, being under lock and key. I haven't seen a sick room, but I don't think you would lock access to something like that… so medical storage?"

"Good guess," he teased as he finally pushed the door open and revealed the room.

What was inside somehow blew away all of her expectations and assumptions. It was definitely not being used for storage. Lining the walls were numerous machines and a few glass covered cabinets. An adjustable bed sat in the center of the room, connected to a podium that elevated it high into the air. Lights went on automatically as she entered, flashing down at her with a blinding brilliance. Accompanying the overhead lights, as if more was even needed, was a standing lamp that had about four unique bulbs inside a circular cone. At the back of the tiled room there was even a large space, revealed through a wide window that showcased rows of tiered seats.

"This is my operating theatre," Law explained as he stepped into the room behind her and shut the door for privacy.

Her bare feet padded along the floor and left behind little prints. ' _A medically sterile room,'_ she realized a little belatedly.

"Do you—" she hesitated to ask the questions racing through her mind. ' _Do you operate on just your crewmembers? How exactly did you earn that epitaph? How often are you operating on people that you realized you needed a room like this? And… are you only operating in case of emergencies?'_

Eventually she chose not to ask any of them, a little too terrified of the possible answers. There weren't many pirates with a lot of medical knowledge to their name and even less were capable of performing operations. When it came down to it, nearly all of them had learnt their trade through illegal practices rather than traditional education. Something about Trafalgar's setup told her that he had a lot more experience in his field than anyone else and that however he had learnt it, didn't change the fact that he did it well.

" _Do I?"_ Law drawled, pressing for her to continue as he walked around her.

She jumped when their shoulders brushed against one another but remained rooted to her spot as he crossed towards a standing cabinet that was filled with cleaning supplies. Beside the cabinet and hidden behind a glass case were numerous bottles of medications with various names that reminded her of the stash hidden behind his bathroom mirror.

"It's… not important," she answered and tore her eyes from him to look around the room.

Beside the bed a tray of scalpels and other tools caught her eye. Temporarily distracted by the sight of them she didn't notice the gloves waving in her face until Law cleared his throat, causing her to jump before accepting them. Pulling them on, she was then handed little plastic booties to cover her feet with.

"Are you uncomfortable in my presence, Puppy-ya?"

Surprised with the question, Nyiji tore her eyes away from the tools to look at him. "No," she responded, faster than she liked. More honest than she meant it to be.

He eyed her before turning to fetch more pieces of attire for her, choosing to steer the subject along and get the day over with. As he handed her a paper mask to cover the lower half of her face, a hairnet and a pair of large boots, he instructed her: "Put these on. The plastic goes overtop the boots. Do you have any allergies?"

"Allergies? No, none I'm aware of." Pulling the large boots on, she grimaced as her feet came nowhere close to filling the sole. They would slip off if she wasn't careful with every step.

"Good," moving away from her, he began to fill a mop bucket with a few different chemicals that were then diluted with hot water. "You'll start with the floor, then I'll show you how to sanitize the equipment."

Tying her hair up into a tight bulging bun at the back of her head, Nyiji slipped the hairnet over her head before she joined him near the foul-smelling bucket. Somewhere along the line, he had slipped his own face-mask on, concealing most of his features from her. It emphasized the double earrings that hung from each earlobe, catching her interest as they swayed and bounced against one another with every movement he made.

Taking the mop from his hands, she turned and got started on her job while Law hopped onto the elevated bed. His long form reclined as he relaxed onto the metal. "So, tell me why you've chosen Holfield."

Keeping her eyes on the floor as she worked, she answered him with a slightly muffled voice: "There was a merchant there that Alistair often spent his free time with. We took the odd job from him, but there were times when Alistair received a call, we would arrive and he'd have everything ready for us ahead of time. He must be in contact with the same agent that Alistair was."

"And you believe he'll reveal that information to you?" hands clasped across his stomach, Law relaxed and let his eyes slip closed. For a long moment he looked as if he had fallen asleep before she heard his voice again. "It's a good lead."

Feeling a little triumphant, Nyiji grinned and moved over to the bed. "I think you just complimented me."

One eyelid creeping open, he eyed her as she hovered over him. "Just your imagination."

Bouncing away from him, her earlier energy returning, she cleaned until the space was spotless. ' _Even Mason would be impressed… or, should be,_ ' she thought with pride.

Watching her practically dance around his operating theatre as she cleaned, Law wondered about her revelations. Holfield was a dangerous area for pirates, considering it was occupied and protected by local Marines. Of course, that also made it the perfect destination for travelers. There were hundreds of people that came and went, including those that led unlawful lives.

"So, you've actually been to Holfield?" Law asked after a long moment of thought. "Stepped foot in town?"

Pausing by the tray of scalpels, Nyiji turned to look at him and nodded. "We went there a lot, for business and down time. There's lots to do there, but my Captain usually kept me pretty close."

His eyebrow rose. "How did you deal with the marines?"

Swaying a little as she balanced her weight onto the mop, she grinned with pride as she answered: "The Marines have an agreement with the locals about allowing merchants and traders in—even if they're associated with piracy. Basically, once you are within their borders you are considered a citizen and granted temporary immunity from the law. Or well, from being arrested on sight."

"Temporary immunity?" he repeated, eyebrow raising higher. "So, the minute a vessel flying black flags leaves their borders, they are allowed to act?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Nyiji returned to mopping the floor. "Sort of. They honestly don't even bother. I've only ever seen them try to arrest someone outside the city borders a few times and that was because they had a pretty high bounty on their head."

Law made a noise in his throat and sat up right as she finished cleaning the floor. Hopping off of the bed, he moved over to her and took the mop, returning it back to its rightful home in the standing cabinet. "Did you hide your alliances before you got to town?" he asked with his back to her.

"No, sailed right in with our flags waving," she answered.

Hearing a little tinkling noise, his attention was drawn back towards her, catching her in the middle of fiddling with the tools he had left out. "And you never had any problems leaving?"

Caught in the act, Law watched as Nyiji shook her head and meekly tucked her hands behind her back. Her answers had at least made him more comfortable with his decision to go to Holfield. Spending a few minutes teaching her how to clean the equipment and tools she was so fascinated with, he waited until she was done cleaning the suite before he decided to ask the final burning question on his mind.

He waited until she was stepping into the darkened observation room before speaking: "So, any reason your Captain took his _navigator_ with him everywhere he went?"

Frozen and bent over a chair, Nyiji kept herself perfectly still as she tried to recover from the insinuation. On the surface, his words sounded innocent enough and spoken so lazily she nearly overlooked it. But she couldn't deny the response it had garnered and now it was too late to lie and pretend that the question hadn't struck a nerve, touched on something she would have rather kept secret. Her body language had done the damage and now too much time had passed without saying anything for her to cover up her tracks.

Straightening up, she turned to face him. The window stood between them, acting as a shield that did little to make her feel secure as he pulled the mask off of his face with the grace of a predator. It was a slow and deliberate move that greatly unnerved her.

"My Captain trusted me," she said, hoping that the vague answer would be enough to satisfy him. He continued to stare at her without speaking but there seemed to be a change in the way he looked at her. As if he was all too aware of the things her Captain had made her do before she had been kidnapped.

Choosing not to let the conversation weigh her down and impede her progress, Nyiji returned to cleaning the observation room floor. The seats were next. Once the entire surgical suite had been made spotless and sparkling, she was allowed a moments respite as he looked over her work. There were a few spots that he made her redo, little smudges her hand prints had left behind but when he was satisfied, they moved out into the hallway. The long corridor took less time than expected, requiring less work than his theatre and then they were moving onto other rooms located on the first floor.

The sick bay looked exactly as she expected, with tons of open space and numerous gurneys. There was even a little desk in the back and more equipment lining the walls. Similar to his operating theatre, he had her start with the floors before moving onto the equipment. The procedure for sterilizing was slightly different than previous, keeping her on her toes. A few times when she made a minuscule mistake, Law would force her to start all over again. This continued until she accidentally sliced her finger open. Quick to notice, he had patched her up without words, fetched her another set of gloves and sent her right back to work.

"The helms next," he advised her as they left the sick bay. "I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Pausing just before the hatch that hid the climber's tube, Nyiji stared wide-eyed and helplessly, hoping that he would shout ' _just kidding!'_ any second. The space had remained off limits even after their return from Jiyan and she had been more than happy to comply with that decision considering it was the bear's work station.

"Y-you want me to go u-up there?" her voice trembled, hands shaking at her sides.

Pulling the door open without a shred of remorse, Law let a little grin overtake his features as he waved her inside the tight space. "Yes. I said you're cleaning the sub top to bottom, didn't I? Last I checked, the helms apart of that. You should know that, being a navigator yourself, right?"

Trembling with each step, she held eye contact in the hopes that he would change his mind. The helm was an enclosed area which made it that much more dangerous. If the bear decided it was time for a snack, there would be nowhere for her to run. ' _What am I supposed to do? Fight it off myself?'_

"Hurry up, Puppy-ya." Patting her back, he forced her to take the lead as he collected a small bucket full of supplies.

Nervously climbing up the ladder towards a dim overhead light, her pace was hesitant and slow. She could only hope that the bear wouldn't be there. Head poking up she examined the area and spotted a giant bundle of white fur seated at his regular post in front of a curved control panel. Beneath his seat, the floor was littered with trash and dirty plates. She immediately cursed her luck. Glancing towards a door she recalled led out onto the submarine's top deck, she contemplated how fast she would have to be to bolt outside. A rather large secondary console, full of switches and buttons, stuck out of the wall from beside the door. That would definitely impede her escape.

"Oh!" the bear squeaked as it spotted her.

Turning in his seat, he stood and towered over her as she began to reverse back down the ladder. If it weren't for Law being right behind her, she might have succeeded. Instead she was surprised by the feeling of a firm hand grabbing her rear. She wasn't even able to let out a startled cry of protest before she was being pushed through the air and thrown into the room. The bear took a few steps back as she landed at his feet. Law climbed out of the tube a second later, dropping the bucket of supplies on the floor before stretching.

"Captain! I didn't expect you here so soon!" Bepo chimed in greeting.

Red faced, Nyiji glared at the duo from the floor.

"She worked faster than I had assumed she would," Law answered while rubbing the back of his neck.

Casting a look towards her, Bepo's collar of fur ruffled up. Though the action wasn't meant to be aggressive it sent Nyiji scrambling away. "Sorry!" the minkman apologized, cowering a little into himself.

"Don't apologize to her," Law reprimanded his first-mate. "She's here to clean, not interrupt you."

Apologizing again, Bepo flattened his ears against his head and moved back to his chair.

Glad to see that his first mate hadn't completely taken Nyiji's irrational fears to heart, Law pointed a finger at the bucket and issued a brief command of "get to work" before taking up the second seat to keep watch over her.

" _Better than starving, huh?"_ Owens voiced her thoughts. He was nothing more than an auditory hallucination but she couldn't find it in herself to disagree with him. Earlier she had thought she had gotten off easy, but now she knew different. This punishment was much worse than starving in the brig. " _Go on, ask him for mercy,"_ he teased.

Muttering quietly under her breath for the ghost to " _shut up,"_ Nyiji forcefully grabbed the bucket to begin cleaning. She refused to put her back towards the minkman which made the work much more difficult than it needed to be. Bagging up the garbage closest to her, she worked across the floor on her hands and knees until she was near the minkman's feet. Cautiously she reached out to grab a dirty plastic plate and then he twitched. Both of them jumped as they registered their closeness to one another and simultaneously let out cries of apology. Behind them, Law sighed heavily.

"I-I'm sorry! I can leave!" The minkman said, turning to face his Captain with a look of guilt all over his muzzle.

"And who will steer the sub in your absence? You have duties here. She's the prisoner, Bepo, you are not to sacrifice for her."

Sinking back into his seat with a little determined nod, Bepo did his best to keep out of her way as she continued cleaning in silence. The command was fair, she supposed. It didn't matter that she was terrified of the beast—this wasn't her ship, her crew or her family. Bagging the last items up and setting it aside, she prepared a few cloths to wipe down the floors. She was feeling homesick again, missing the comfort of Killian's warm meals and Cyrus's belligerent behavior.

The two pirates chatted quietly with one another while she carried on, conversing like old friends without regard for her presence. A few times she even caught Law smiling. ' _This was his family, his home.'_

Pushing herself off the floor she moved to the back of the room to wipe down the counter, taking care to avoid the unlabeled buttons and switches lest she make a fatal mistake that sent them all sinking into the depths of the ocean to drown.

"Puppy-ya," Law called when she moved back to the bucket in search of an antibacterial wipe. "Just work on the window and we can go."

Glancing at the large pane of glass that sat before Bepo's workstation, with a full view of the great ocean ahead, she gulped. There would be no way to keep a distance between herself and the bear if she worked on that. Half tempted to shoot a pleading look towards Law, she reigned herself in and dramatically pulled the items she would need from the bucket. If he wanted a reaction from her, that would be exactly what she would give him.

Moving towards the farthest point of the console which coincidentally put her right beside Law's chair, she sprayed the window and reached as far as her arms could stretch to scrub the glass. At least there was a buffer between them.

Casting a glance over his shoulder, Law watched her work for a moment before making a suggestion: "If you can't reach, you could always ask the magical question."

Knowing that he was setting up a piece of bait, Nyiji did her best to ignore him. Standing on the tips of her toes, she struggled to reach over the center console to get halfway up the window. After a few more failed wipes, she caved and turned on the grinning Captain. ' _He is so fucking smug…'_

"Okay, fine. What's the magic question?"

Leaning forward in his chair, elbows braced on his knees he pressed her: "You'll have to say please—"

"Please," she interrupted him, irritated that he was prolonging her time with his navigator.

"You didn't let me finish," he clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and reclined back into his chair, eyeing her up. "Alright. I'll let you have it, just this once."

Extending his foot, he brushed his leg between hers all the way up to her thighs before a little click sounded. Cheeks aflame she chanced a glance behind her to find the source of the noise to discover that he had released a pedal that drew up a portion of the console for someone to sit upon. A small set of ledges, makeshift stairs, appeared at the edge as a way up to the platform. _'So that was how they got to the window!'_

Clambering up the steps without waiting for him to withdraw his leg, Nyiji settled herself onto the platform. Up here she felt more confidant and comfortable, separated from the bear and his Captain with a gorgeous view. The sun was getting higher in the sky, nearing noon.

"Come on," Law called when she was finished, already up and heading towards the climber's tube to descend. He waited patiently for her to slip down first before he followed.

"So that's it?" she asked when he met her at the bottom of the sealed hatch. She was grinning, looking absolutely triumphant. It made him feel giddy just knowing that resolve would be cracked before the end of the day.

"Did that seem like the entire submarine?" he teased as he reached over her for the hatch door. "What happened to that curiosity of yours?"

Hefting the bucket up into her arms, Nyiji followed him down to the second floor and withheld her comments. He walked them to the galley first, pausing in the doorway to examine the area before moving inside. His crew had done a fantastic job. Everything was in disarray, with clothes thrown haphazardly across the couches and empty glasses knocked over and forgotten. Mystery stains covered almost every surface. In the corner of the kitchen he spotted Mason wringing a cloth as he stared wild-eyed at his surroundings. He looked like he might be having an aneurysm.

Patting Nyiji's shoulder, he pointed her towards the galley's main dining area before excusing himself to speak with his chef. "Doing alright there, Mace?"

He looked teary eyed, bottom lip trembling as he turned to face his Captain. His skin was whiter than paper. "T-the galley! T-the me-mess!"

"I know," he consoled the chef. "But I have another favor to ask before you take over…"

Deaf to their conversation, Nyiji picked up the clothes and grimaced as her hand came into contact with something _sticky_. Drawing her hand away she discovered a strangely see-through substance. "Oh god," she whined with realization and quickly wiped her palm onto one of the shirts. A few men snickered from their table. "That's disgusting!"

Throwing the clothes into a pile on the ground, she glared at the few pirates that dared look in her direction. She should have been nervous about their lingering stares and mocking laughs but she was too frustrated to let her nerves take over. ' _It's like they planned to do this,'_ she thought with a grimace.

"Missed a spot over here!" one of the men called to her as he pulled the hat off his head to wave at her.

About to walk over and accept the garment, she was stalled when Mason let out a bellowing shriek. "What? No! Captain, no! Come on, please!"

A few words were traded between them then, too quiet to pick up. Her brows drew together. Something felt amiss.

"What's that about?" she tried asking Law when he walked towards her.

Heading past her to recline in his usual booth, he passively shrugged. "Nothing that concerns you right now. Well? Why aren't you working? The place isn't going to clean itself, and there's a lot more to visit before we're done."

Sighing heavily, Nyiji accepted her lot. "What am I supposed to do with their clothes? And the garbage bags?"

"I'll take you to the laundry room after, just put it all in the corner by the door for now," he answered.

Obtaining a broom to sweep the floor, she repeated what felt like an endless cycle. Sweep, mop, scrub, disinfect. Repeat at least twice. She even tidied up the crumbs that had gotten stuck between the couch cushions. Her body ached by the time she was finished. Pushing the last garbage bag towards its counterparts at the door, she risked a look out down the hall. There were men scurrying between doors, each carting bags of something. A flash of red hair caught her eye as Shachi exited his room with a pot tucked under one arm. Noticing her, he let his sunglasses drop to the bridge of his nose and shot her a wink and a thumbs up. She didn't want to know.

"Puppy-ya, are you done?"

"Yes," she called back as she turned to face the galley again. Mason was still stewing behind the counter, the only space she had not touched within the room. "What's next?"

Tilting his chin up, Law beckoned her over with a nod. The other men seemed to lean forward to overhear. "You'll be making the crews lunch. Mason has graciously offered to let you use whatever you need."

Standing speechless and dumb for a moment, she blinked before a smile stretched across her face. Without another second wasted she bounded towards the kitchen, leaping over the counter just to spite the blonde and dashed to the refrigerator. Their supplies were significantly lower than what she had seen just yesterday but that didn't slow her down.

"Did you already have a lunch planned?" she asked Mason, ignoring his verbal insults towards her behavior. "Or can I make whatever I want?"

Casting a glance towards his Captain, Mason hesitated to answer. "You… can make whatever you want."

"Waffles? No, that's for breakfast… sandwiches?" darting out of the kitchen to access the pantry, she hesitated in front of the locked cabinets and shot Mason a little look. "Can I see what you have in here?"

Lips steepled shut he moved over to her robotically to unlock the pantry. She spent about two minutes going over the contents before a frown took over. "Where are your oranges?"

"Fresh out," he answered dryly.

"For how long?" she asked, knowing how detrimental it was to keep a steady supply of vitamin C on board any seafaring vessel.

"Don't look at me like that," he snapped. "I would never put my crew at risk."

Accepting his answer without anymore prodding, Nyiji grabbed up what she would need and headed back to the kitchen, a little quieter than before. She hadn't meant to insult the chef. Unwrapping a bag of buns, she picked at the bread for a little taste test and hummed.

"We bought them a few island's back," Mason spoke up, fingering the paper-mask at his throat. "Have they gone stale?"

"Not yet," she answered. "but you do have enough ingredients to make more…"

Glancing at the ingredients she had pulled out and spread along the counter, Mason fingered the mask before pulling it up over his cheeks to conceal his face. When he spoke, his voice was muffled: "would you make some?"

She felt a little smile pull at her mouth. "Sure."

Watching her as she worked, Mason lingered at the edge of the kitchen, only providing help when he noticed her concentration slipping. With the two working in concert, it didn't take long for platefuls of sandwiches to make their way to the counter. Groups came and went to collect themselves a lunch. Fixing two plates, Nyiji carried the meal towards the farthest alcove for a break. Sliding the plate towards Law without a greeting, she dug into her sandwich. She was starving.

"Hey! I smell something good!" someone called from the galley's opening, sticking their head inside.

"Prisoner cooked!" another answered their crewmate with a mouthful of meat, cheese and bread.

"You don't have to brag about it like it's some kind of fucking achievement!" Mason snapped as a few more bodies strolled in to collect their lunches. "I make you lunches every day!"

" _Exactly,"_ someone close to Nyiji's table whispered, careful to keep his voice low so he wouldn't be overheard.

"Enough," Law warned his subordinate, casting a glance towards him.

By the time the galley filled up, Nyiji had finished her lunch and was preparing to exit the booth when tattooed knuckles rapped against the table for her attention. The sandwich sat uneaten in front of him, completely untouched. Drawing her eyebrows together and cocking her head to the side, she glanced between Law and the meal.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked.

He looked away from her, expression stoic and reserved. "I'll eat later."

"But… if you are hungry, why not eat right now?" she pressed.

" _I hate bread…_ " he grumbled before sweeping out of the booth and moving towards the kitchen. She noticed then that Mason had prepared him another mug of coffee and a plate still wrapped in cellophane. After accepting both, he turned to face her and called her over.

' _Wait? He hates bread?'_ Jumping up and making her way towards him, Nyiji bravely reached out to steal the mug of coffee right out of his hand before he could take a sip. He stared at her, eyes squinting as he contemplated murder.

"What are you doing?" Mason snapped for his Captain, leaning over the counter as she walked past them both.

Straight to the coffee pot, Nyiji made a grand show of dumping the ruined beans in the garbage and the coffee down the sink before she began to prepare a proper brew. "Drinking swill on an empty stomach can have numerous effects on your health. If you aren't going to eat a perfectly edible sandwich—"

"Agree to disagree," Law grumped, voice quiet as he crossed his arms. He seemed completely alright with letting her have her way however.

Continuing as if she hadn't been interrupted: "then you can at least drink something that can't be compared to sewer sludge."

" _Sewer s-sludge!?_ " Mason seethed as he reached for a lone frying pan on the counter, eyes burning on the female raven as she continued preparing a new pot of coffee.

"No head shots," Law advised as he unwrapped his plate of food, no longer interested in playing referee to their shenanigans. Happily, he dug into a few prepared rice balls.

A loud smash sounded as Mason slammed the frying pan onto the counter beside her hand, dangerously close to crushing the bones in her palm. "You better open your fucking ears, _Prisoner._ This is not your kitchen and I won't tolerate you any longer!"

Turning to face the chef, Nyiji bravely crossed her arms beneath her bust and stood her ground. "You know… I don't think you'll actually do anything to me. I don't think you have it in you."

Stepping into her personal space, Mason glowered at her, the pan in his hand still clutched tightly. If it weren't for the mask on his face, their noses would be about to touch. "You think I wouldn't hurt you?" he hissed. "You think anyone would stop me?"

She shrugged and dodged the pan as it suddenly whipped over her head. She nearly stumbled before ducking beneath his swinging arm, coming out on the other side of him. She hadn't actually expected him to react but she was prepared. The time spent with him had given her an advantage. When he turned to face her, eyes burning and cheeks red, she made a show of licking her palm in one long stroke.

"W-Wait!" he wailed as she reached her palm towards him. Instinctively flailing backwards, he dropped the pan to the floor while gagging. "I can't believe you would—Ugh! You l-licked—oh god! That's—That's _cheating_!"

"And just think about how easily I could touch everything in here," she added as he continued backing away from her. Gesturing towards the counters, she grinned as he reached towards her to stop her in a blind panic.

Grabbing her wrist, Mason pivoted as he held her in place to reach for his stash of antibacterial wipes. Aggressively he wiped her palm, scrubbing her skin into a pink and raw mess. She didn't mind. It had seemed that a little prodding on his phobias was all it took to stave his murderous intentions and flush all thoughts from his mind as his OCD took over. She swore she could hear him muttering the word ' _sterile'_ under his breath as he then forced her hand underneath the faucet where he continued washing her.

Glancing towards Law, who was still leaning against the counter watching them with a bored expression as he ate, she grinned.

"I wouldn't look so happy if I were you," he warned her, before gesturing his handful of rice towards Mason. "You're forgetting he still has a hold of you."

A sudden jerk on her arm pulled her closer to the sink. She stumbled and reached out to steady herself just as the blonde grabbed her other hand to repeat the process of disinfecting her.

Just when Mason was finished trying to remove her skin, Law spoke up again to catch their attention: "I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but you'll be cleaning the rest of the kitchen under Mason's watch."

With her arms still held firmly in the blonde's grasp, Nyiji's eyes widened to a comical degree. "But, wait? I thought you were watching me?"

"Oh, I am," he confirmed. There was an evil glint in his eye as he looked at her then. "But Mace will decide when you're done in here. You'll have to meet his standards."

Tugging on her arm and bringing her closer to his tiny frame, Mason slapped something into her hand. Her fingers automatically closed around the object, feeling a sponge squish and release a small supply of water. Meeting his blue eyes, she offered the chef an innocent smile. Already she was regretting antagonizing him.

"Start on the counters," he ordered in a low and dangerous voice. "Then we'll see how your coffee compares to mine."

Once she was freed, Nyiji reluctantly moved to work on the counters. An angry red hand print was visible on her wrist, stinging slightly but she refused to complain. Wiping the countertop down and sweeping the crumbs off into her hand, she was stopped by Mason as he began to berate her technique. " _Circular rotations, not side to side,"_ he impressed on her. If she had thought cleaning underneath Trafalgar's direction was difficult, nothing could have prepared her for this. Mason used a variety of cleaning supplies, each labelled and marked for selected spots that had to be diluted and used in a specific order. Any crumbs in her hand had to be disposed of and then she was forced to wash her hands again. The entire process was excessive and a little demeaning, if she was honest, which was probably their plan all along.

She hadn't even been able to finish cleaning the counter before she stopped to check on the coffee. Water at the right temperature, she fixed them both a cup and gently poured the liquid through the ground beans in delicate circles. Without waiting for the men to taste the fruits of her labor, she turned back to the sink to pre-emptively wash her hands. Her knuckles were splitting apart, skin wrinkled from the constant exposure.

Casting a glance over her shoulder, she caught Law staring at her with the mug in his hand. He took a slow sip once he noticed her watching and she turned away with a small grin. Even if he hadn't eaten the sandwiches, he had at least tried her coffee.

Sharing a look with his Captain after tasting the dark brew, Mason pulled a face as Law's lips twitched up into a smirk. Neither wanted to vocalize their thoughts, but it was clear they were both in agreement. " _Traitor,"_ he mouthed at Law before he turned on Nyiji to continue picking apart her cleaning techniques.

"What are you _doing_!? Don't touch that!" he hissed as Nyiji lifted up a jar to clean underneath it.

"I have to clean under it," she replied. His hands flailed in the air in frustration.

"There's an order!" he cried as he snatched the jar from her hands and began to redirect her. About to take over the entire process, Mason hesitated when he caught his Captain's expression and sighed. This was the longest day of his life.

They spent another hour going over his preferred method for the countertops that had her washing everything multiple times with far too many sprays, before she was able to move onto the rest of the room. It was grueling as Mason forced her to move anything not bolted down to clean underneath and behind. He even took sadistic pleasure when she struggled with the refrigerator.

Slumping to the floor when the entire room was finally spotless, Nyiji looked up with exhaustion as Mason stood over her while examining their surroundings. "I _suppose_ ," he started, hesitant to admit it. "it's barely acceptable."

A shadow fell across the floor, drawing her eyes towards Law as he moved to stand beside his chef. Hands in his pockets, posture relaxed and face completely unreadable he jerked his head in a nod that commanded her to his side, before turning and exiting the galley. Her legs resisted her movements, knees popping painfully as she stretched. Even her stitches were bothering her. Leading her towards the crew's bedrooms, Law pushed open each door to reveal her next stop. Each room took about twenty minutes and ended with a trip at the laundry room where he educated her about their 'washing machine.'

"Twist right," he said before pushing a button in that sent water rushing into the machine's tub. "that's it."

Leaning over with curiosity she looked into the machine's opening to watch as it chugged and span the clothes around a rotating part that Law had called an agitator. She had never seen anything like it before.

"Who came up with this?" she asked as she shut the lid.

"Shachi," he answered her and then directed them down the hall towards the common room. "After you."

Stepping past him to enter the space, Nyiji froze upon seeing black marks smeared across every surface and two figures moving around creating the mess. The redhead carried a pot at his hip and his black coated hand swept across the walls as if he were painting a masterpiece. Behind him, his friend grumbled and complained: "You're such an asshole, Shachi. It's going to take her forever to clean this."

"I know!" he replied to his penguin-hatted companion, grin sweeping over the lower half of his face. "Captain's a genius!"

Turning to look over her shoulder, Nyiji stared at their Captain with a smoldering gaze. He merely grinned at her in response, unperturbed with her building rage. That was the moment he had been waiting for, the exact moment she realized who the winner was in their little game. Passing her a secondary bucket filled with soapy water, Law shooed her into the room.

"Oh! Hey prisoner!" Shachi greeted her, letting his sunglasses slip down the bridge of his nose. "Me and Eustass were just giving you a little hand." He waved his soot-covered hand at her.

"Stop calling me that shit," Penguin griped before he turned to face Nyiji and offered her an apologetic smile.

Moving closer to the two, she stood in front of the duo before suddenly heaving the bucket up in her arms and unleashing the stream of water all over them. They spluttered and gaped, drenched down to their boots.

"What the hell?" Shachi cried as he peeled his hat off his head to wring it out. A few bubbles floated into the air beside him.

"I was instructed to clean up _all_ of the filth on this ship," she told them.

Behind them they could hear Law's sudden laughter. He hadn't expected that. His crewmates floundered for words as she left the room to refill her bucket.

"Why didn't she throw it at you?" Shachi wailed as he looked towards his Captain. "I'm completely innocent in this!"

Law shrugged as Penguin wound up and punched his friend in the shoulder, gaze narrowed on him as he watched the black soot dripping off Shachi's palms. "Sure, completely innocent."

It was nightfall by the time she finished the last room aboard the submarine. He had even made her clean the decks outside. Dragging her feet along the floor, nearly unresponsive, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and set the bucket down inside the laundry room. She was ready to sleep for a week.

"One last thing," Law called her from the doorway. "Come up to my room."

Nyiji hesitated to follow him, sensing something foreboding ahead of her. Before she could get out any words however, he had grabbed her wrist and forcefully dragged her up the stairs to the first floor. Swinging his bedroom door open, he tossed her inside. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dim light before she took in the chaos. Every single book had been pulled from their shelf and tossed carelessly on the floor, the breakfast they had eaten earlier was left out and familiar soot stains marred the furniture.

"Please, please let this be the end of it," she begged as she looked over her shoulder at him, ready to plead for mercy as he stepped towards her and entered her personal space.

Towering over her, Law bent his head to make direct eye contact with her. When he spoke, his voice was low and emotionless: "It is, but remember this the next time you think about crossing the line aboard my submarine because if you do, the next time you are in my operating theatre, it won't be to clean."

* * *

 _Author's note; Well, I had planned to get this out by the 25th which clearly didn't happen but I did manage to post before my second goal which was July 1st. Go me! succeeded at something! haha. Just wanted to give a heads up that the month of July will be really busy for me, we have a friend staying with us for awhile from out of town along with multiple birthday's (including mine on the 19th) so I don't know when I will have time to edit and post the next chapter but I promise to keep working on it._

 _I want to thank everyone again for reading and supporting this story of mine, every favorite, follow and review just makes me unbelievably happy. I also wanted to thank 'Guest' for their review; because I couldn't send you a PM to thank you, I really appreciated your words! I'm really looking forward to every chapter I get to post and every little reveal and character development I have planned. Best part of my day is sharing this with you all. :)_


	12. Chapter Twelve

It took them three more days of constant travel to reach Holfield in which little happened aboard the submarine. The crew went about their own business and Nyiji did her best to behave herself by staying locked inside of her room when she wasn't in the presence of someone else. The downtime had helped her store up energy for their arrival, leaving her bouncing with excitement as she peered out of the window on the Polar Tang's front hatch. It was incredible how fast and far they had traveled deep beneath the ocean compared to the regular timeline of a ship controlled by the breeze. The metal machine was certainly an incredible invention.

As the submarine finally began to rise from the water's depths, she began to bounce on her heels. This was unquestionably her favorite thing about the vessel. It was beautiful the way the water drained away as if there were a crack in the bottom of a glass, spilling down to reveal the morning sky. It took her breath away. After her kidnapping she hadn't expected to enjoy anything about the Heart's vessel; she still felt guilty every time she caught herself having the slightest bit of fun. Spyglass bouncing against her hip, Nyiji paused when she felt a hand briefly touch the back of her elbow. Reminded that she wasn't alone in the corridor she turned.

Chuckling at the blush that spawned over her features, Penguin pointed towards the end of the bow and whispered as if they were discussing a secret: "If you keep your eyes right there just as we come out of the water, sometimes it looks as if the sun is setting."

Water ballooned up around the yellow submarine, pushing upwards in a dome and illuminating the sun in a prismatic spray of color. It lasted only seconds before it burst and the waves rolled calmly back. The entire scene was so reminiscent to painting with water colors that Nyiji had to bite her bottom lip to repress her awe. As the water poured over the porthole's glass her fingers unconsciously moved against the window as she envisioned disturbing and moving the paint to create something wonderful. Terrified as she was about drowning and being crushed beneath the ocean's wrath, she could deal with that fear and the near blistering humidity if it meant she could see this sight again. Sights only the steel giant could create.

"It's quite a sight, huh?" Penguin boasted. His chest filled with pride as he looked over his creation. Patting his hand lovingly on the wall, he spoke again: "Took us a few years to create this masterpiece, but she's our baby."

Watching him stroke the submarine as if it were his child, Nyiji smiled. It was rather endearing. "Who helped you build her?"

"Shachi and I. At least in the beginning," he answered, grin never leaving his face as he finally moved forward to grab the hatches handle. "with a few additions on the more recent renovations." Giving the wheel a great spin, he unlocked and pushed the door free, allowing the salty air to make its way inside.

Waving her forward, Penguin carefully watched her as she exited and hurried over the still wet and slippery deck. Before he could call out a warning that she should slow down, Nyiji slipped on a patch where the water hadn't entirely drained away and fell with a loud crash. He winced as muffled laughter came from behind him. No one else had even attempted to make their way out onto the deck after learning their own lessons many years ago.

"Are you alright, Nyiji?" Penguin asked as he rushed outside, albeit at a much slower pace than her, to assist.

Her face was colored a pretty rouge but she accepted his offered hand gratefully. "Only my pride, which can take a few hits."

Penguin chuckled good-naturedly and pulled her up. Even though her hands stung and the crew's laughter still filtered out of the front hatch, it was easy to forget the embarrassing incident when he was around. He had such a calming presence, his unique laugh easing her stung ego. Back on her feet, Nyiji wiped her palms off on her bare knees and turned an eye onto a line in the horizon where the ocean met the grand sky. The two were nearly identical in color that morning and both were as calm as the breeze. ' _Not much farther now.'_

"So, you've been to Holfield before?" Penguin asked her as he watched the rest of the men finally spill onto the deck. Some pushed at one another, continuing to crack jokes about the prisoner's fall. He shot them a scathing look that quickly silenced them.

Silver irises drawn away from the skyline, Nyiji glanced at the fellow pirate and nodded before timidly making her way towards the end of the deck for a better view of their surroundings. She didn't want another repeat of her earlier fall. "A few times," she began to explain. "It's a great port for merchants. There are hundreds of thousands of different things for sale there."

Reaching the railing and curling her fingers around the banister she finally saw it. Splitting up from the waves in the distance was the City of Holfield; a beautiful structure of floating wood that layered upon itself into an odd shaped stacking tower. Every level was open and revealed shops, restaurants and even civilian homes—some of which were located on platforms that extended out far past the hundreds of docks below. A constant flow of ships could be seen entering and leaving and amongst them a sea of gondolas traveled. Manned by Holfield's youngest merchants, they moved with expertise between the canals and large buoys that were attached to every pier, crying out various wares all the while.

Beside her Penguin hummed with appreciation as he took in the floating city for the first time. Adjusting the cap on his head, he asked: "There's lots of navy there though, right?"

Nyiji nodded and pointed towards the city's piers where military ships could be seen idling about or sailing in the opposite direction. "Yes, but they have an agreement with the merchants of the City not to arrest or attack any pirates docked for business—of course, that's the real trick. If anyone with a high enough bounty comes by, it doesn't escape their notice. I've seen them chase a few ships down as soon as they depart."

Glancing down at his boiler suit and hiding a grimace, Penguin unzipped the front to let it hang down around his waist before tying the sleeves around his middle. Tugging on the cloth and twisting himself into odd positions he made sure that not only was the jolly roger concealed within its folds but that the arms wouldn't slip or come loose. Since there wasn't enough time to go back inside and find something a little more discreet to wear, this attempt at camouflage would have to do. Flashing his baby blues over each of his crewmates he felt relieved to see that each one had already anticipated and prepared for their current situation and dressed accordingly. ' _At least they're taken care of, but the submarine…'_ he worried internally. Looking over his shoulder his eyes suddenly bulged when they landed on the sight of his Captain exiting the Polar Tang's front hatch.

Turning to see what had Penguin looking so startled, Nyiji nearly fell over in shock beside him. Practically blending into the submarine behind him, Trafalgar had arrived dressed in the brightest attire she had ever seen. In a black spotted and sunshine yellow coat overtop a vibrant red shirt, he had replaced his usual dark tones with blinding accessories. He had left behind his hat in favor of taming his otherwise messy locks with a combed back styling. ' _At least,'_ she mused, ' _his black pants weren't so eye-catching.'_

Bearing a proud smirk as he fixed the collar of his bright yellow coat, Nyiji noticed that his hands were encased in gloves that matched the red of his shirt, adorned in numerous multicolored skulls and bones. At least they covered up his tattoos. ' _Was he colorblind!?'_ her mind screamed as she watched the light shimmer off of his outfit, making him resemble nothing short of a walking kaleidoscope.

Without thinking, she asked him: "Is that really your attempt at a disguise?"

He blinked at her and then looked to his mechanic who only shrugged, knowing full well not to judge his Captain's taste. "What's wrong with it?" Law asked dryly, genuinely not seeing the problem with his choices.

"You… haven't even disguised your face, you have a bounty—" she started.

Law waved his hand dismissively and interrupted her: "It's a great disguise, don't worry about it," in another breath he turned and addressed his crew, "Has everyone finished with their lists?"

Flashing various resupply sheets, the group nodded one by one in affirmation. Their Captain nodded only once before turning back to face Penguin, eyes on the image of Holfield over the mechanics shoulder. They were closing in on the city, close enough now that the bodies moving amongst the rafters and bridges were clearly visible. Hundreds of people were flowing and bustling about the city with fervor hoping to get their morning shopping out of the way.

"Remember, we are not staying the night," Law reminded his crew, "Grab everything you need as soon as possible, load it and wait for our return."

Having no qualms with his orders the Hearts saluted. It reminded Nyiji of time spent with her own crew, who had always loyally accepted the commands of Captain Rook without question. Of course, many had only acquiesced out of fear of his blind fury; even the mercenaries did not dare to tread over his temper. Yet watching the Hearts interact with their own Captain left her feeling strange. It was obvious these men were not afraid of his wrath turning against them. Fingers twisted into her braided hair unconsciously and a hushed voice caught her right ear. Turning and instinctively seeking the voice out, she found nothing there. In response her nails dug shapes of crescent moons into her palms in an attempt to keep the ghosts at bay. ' _It feels like I am betraying him,'_ quickly she tried to toss the thoughts away. Now was not the time to dwell. All that mattered was finding the truth, whatever the cost.

"Hold on. It might get a little bumpy as we dock," Penguin said as he nudged her with his elbow. Startled, she jerked back into focus and offered him a timid smile. Realizing that she hadn't heard him, he repeated himself.

Following the advice Nyiji squeezed her hands on the railing and waited as the submarine pulled into the docks. Tipping her head back she watched moving shadows appear from the rafters above. The flickering of light dancing between bright sunlight and complete darkness made her temporarily blind and imposed upon them the feeling of being encased by the City. Around them the waves became choppier as water shifted to allow them access. The port that the Hearts had chosen appeared to be only occupied by fisherman and traders; some were even still sitting aboard their own ships while they continued to make plans to climb Holfield's towering tiers.

Dropping a plank between the submarine and the dock, Penguin allowed her to make her way down first before he and his Captain followed. The minute their feet touched the ground, merchants began to exuberantly shout their wares. Some even held their product up high above their heads as if it would entice a sale. Familiar with their behavior, Nyiji dismissed them with a wave as she walked by. Holfield had been a favorite destination amongst the Rook pirates, for business and for pleasure, and so she had spent a great deal of time here learning the ins and outs of the city. It had gotten to the point that if she wanted to, she could even traverse the city with her eyes closed. Not that it was recommended unless a person relished the risk of being arrested, robbed or worse, it was unwise to even blink for too long. Holfield demanded constant attention of its surroundings and she was well versed in its ways.

Pausing at the entrance to a large open market Nyiji eyed the numerous pathways visible between stalls. Each one zigzagged across the others, with some ascending and others leading out to platforms that hung out over the sea. She hesitated with heading upstairs, especially with Penguin and his _disguised_ Captain lingering so close. She had no idea whether or not they had plans to follow her and wasn't sure how to ask without putting the idea in their heads.

Choosing her words carefully and hoping she wasn't about to seal her own fate, Nyiji asked them: "Aren't you going with the rest of your crew?"

Taking his time looking over her body with an arched brow, Law held back his emotions and asked with a flattened tone: "Trying to get rid of us, Puppy-ya?"

"No!" accidentally blurting her thoughts, she winced and physically fidgeted in place while trying to recover. "It's just—well, I-I mean, I don't think he'll take it too well if I show up with strangers. Whenever we met, I was with Alistair."

Letting her stew a few seconds longer in her own discomfort, Law eventually turned towards Penguin and signaled him with a brisk nod to depart from their company. He left with a small wave to her, unconcerned that he had been sent away. When they were alone, Law stepped towards her and slung his arm over her shoulders without a care.

"Alright, lead on."

"You're included in that _'stranger'_ category, you know," she remarked, frowning at him and trying to wiggle his arm off of her body. She winced when the action pulled at the wrappings on her shoulder that concealed the blue stitches on her skin.

"And yet you're not going anywhere alone, _Prisoner,_ " he answered, voice teasing and filled with amusement as if he had told his own joke. "Funny that, huh? Now, hurry up and lead on."

Accepting that she could not change his mind or escape his hold, Nyiji let out a heavy sigh and led them through the market and up a curved inclining plank that connected to the second floor. A vast selection of shops spread out before them, each more different than the last. Though Holfield itself was made entirely out of wood, including its smaller businesses, each shop had taken care to decorate for whatever they were selling. Some fashioned strands of enormous tree leaves around their counters, and others had thick rows of lights that made looking in one direction a blinding encounter. A few shops even had cut-outs of burgers and pizzas setup along the walkways with signs pointing customers their way. There were hundreds of ideas and products, all ranging from dried herbs and bottles jams to advanced equipment that one might find in a facility. There were even weapon shops and smithies that upon noticing had Law forcing them to a stop so he could look in with interest before allowing them to move away.

"Where is your sword, by the way?" she asked, curious about his missing accessory.

"You don't need to worry," he hummed as he stretched to look over a few passerby's heads, eyeing something that she couldn't see. "I'm perfectly capable without a weapon."

"That's not what I meant," she mumbled when he quit stretching and returned to relaxing against her body, arm still comfortably wrapped around her shoulders.

"I know."

There was a grin there, pulling at the corners of his mouth that she might have missed had she not already been glaring at the side of his head. It might have been the sight of it or the fear of Sam's response when she showed up without her Captain, but something inside of her chest moved in response. She had no idea how the merchant would take her arriving unannounced and with Trafalgar hanging onto her as if she were a prize he had won at a casino.

"The shops over there," she spoke up when she spotted their destination, marked by two potted plants that rested on either side of the front door.

Ducking out of the man's arm Nyiji hurried towards the shop, hoping that she would be able to enter before Law caught up to her. A bell chimed overhead as she entered and she heard a familiar voice call from the backroom: "We're not open yet! Come back later."

Looking over her shoulder to make sure that the pirate Captain hadn't caught up to her just yet, Nyiji rushed to the counter and called out to the merchant: "Actually, I'm looking for your desert palms."

Stepping out of his back office and looking just as she remembered, Sam paused behind the counter and took her in with an expression full of surprise. Before either of them had a second to open their mouths and address the other, the bell chimed again as Law entered the store. Locking eyes, the two stared each other down in a long drawn out moment of silence before Sam, a tall but plump man with brown skin, broke the tension by waving his hands and charging over to greet the stranger with a bear hug. It was obvious the gesture surprised Law as he was embraced, but Nyiji knew the hidden meaning beneath the hug.

Hoping not to enrage the merchant by outing his actions or by cementing her association with Trafalgar, Nyiji rubbed at her cheek and kept herself meek as she spoke up: "We aren't carrying any weapons, Sam."

Appearing to be in a forgiving mood that day, Sam let out one deep belly laugh before releasing the pirate in his arms. Roughly patting Law's shoulders, he spared him a little wink and said: "One can never be too sure though. Isn't that right?"

Choosing to keep his mouth shut and let her handle the conversation, Law kept his posture as non-aggressive as possible while the merchant moved over to finally greet her. The hug was similar to what he had received, accompanied with a few pats and lingering hands that he couldn't help but take notice of.

"So, what can I help you with, Pup? You seem to be missing a master."

Nyiji winced at the comment but followed him as he walked around the counter towards the backroom. She hated the space as Sam enjoyed displaying trophies of hunts from his earlier days, but knew better than to try speaking to him about any private matters up front. He loved his privacy and preferred to have any business talk behind closed doors. Kicking the door open, Sam waved the two inside where various animal heads greeted them with their lifeless stares. The air was stale and reeked of freshly cut wood that drifted up from the shavings that littered the floor. While the pirate's backs were to him, Sam cast a green-eyed glare over the duo before turning to lock the door behind them. He wasn't stupid. Never in his life had he seen the woman without Rook and yet here she was, walking into his shop without any previous orders and a stranger in tow.

Eyeing the trophies with an apathetic expression, Law listened carefully as Nyiji spoke to the merchant. She sounded quite confidant even though she was nervously fiddling with her hair. "Alistair sent me over. We've been looking for some extra work since our last job and since we were in the area, we figured you'd be able to put us in contact with someone that needs the extra hands."

Sam hummed as he skirted the two and moved over to a small work desk where a transponder snail slept aside a large stack of paperwork. "I've got to say, Pup. I'm surprised."

"Surprised?" she repeated, eyes following his every move as he dug through a few drawers on his desk to locate a small tool. There was a block of wood on the desk, shaved on one side, that he took up and began to carve after taking up his old seat.

Sam, a merchant that dressed more like a noble, glanced at her over his shoulder and smiled, revealing gold caps in his teeth that were studded with steel bits. "Well, well. Someone like you, Pup, looking for work. I'm sure you'd do just fine on your own."

He wiggled his eyebrows and Law finally saw fit to step forward. "The Cap' has us on a bit of a schedule…" he trailed off, leaving the rest of his sentence up to the man's imagination.

Closing his mouth and humming as he stared at the pirate, Sam smacked his lips together before letting out a loud " _ahh!"_ as he turned in his chair to face his desk. Setting the piece and his tools down, he leaned forward and rearranged the hand-carved wooden replicas on his desk, admiring his creations. Each one resembled a person that he had met, taken an interest in and thus rendered permanently into wood.

"Gotcha! Can't get any rest while the ringmasters out-a workin'!" Sam eyed the sleeping snail for a moment before getting up to his feet. The air was thick with tension that grew heavier with every step the merchant took towards the bookshelf. Thumbing a few spines before he plucked a weathered journal from its resting place, he finally turned to face Nyiji and smiled widely. "And what kind of work be you looking for, _little Pup?_ "

Taking a deep breath, Nyiji refrained from glancing at Law and giving anything away. She could tell that Sam suspected something was amiss but wasn't sure how to set the story straight. The last thing they needed was a fight. Holfield's merchants were well protected in the City, any sign of aggression would be sure to bring the navy running.

"We're partial to keeping with the same company," she answered.

Feeling the sweet accumulating on her palms, she resisted wiping them on her shorts and willed her body to keep from tensing up. She had to keep calm and appear subservient lest she risk tipping the merchant off. Knowing how to play the part to fit the situation, just as she was taught, she skirted her way towards his desk all while keeping her hands visible. He watched her closely before snapping the journal closed and straightening up to a fearsome height. He wasn't much taller than her and came nowhere Law but he was intimidating all the same. Plucking the shaved wooden cube off of the desk and fiddling with the object, Nyiji turned to face him again. She simply had to remind him of her place at her Captain's side and use Alistair's personage against him.

"You know how Alistair is, Sam," she let her tone drop to one that indicated and reminded the merchant of how fearsome the pirate Captain could be. "He gives the orders but never asks the questions."

Assuaged by her words Sam laughed heartily, alleviating the heavy atmosphere in the room. Moving towards her and slipping into her personal space, he swept an arm around her shoulders and plucked the block of wood from her fingers with his free hand. As he pulled away there was no missing the unsubtle squeeze of her body.

"Forever trained, right?" he teased her.

The two shared an uncomfortable laugh as Sam began to flip the wood in his hand, over and over.

"Well, I'd love to help ya Pup, but I don't have the connection your Captain is looking for. He should try that transponder on his desk," setting the wood down on the table, he then lowered his voice so Law wouldn't be able to overhear. "He _does_ still have it, doesn't he? I'm sure Yuudai wouldn't like to learn that Al's gone and lost it. That ain't the case, _right Pup_?"

Holding the man's unrelenting eye contact she could only shake her head as she felt her knees wobble beneath the pressure. It had been much easier dealing with the merchant when her Captain was involved. Sam had never gotten this close to her before, too intimidated by Alistair's size to actually mess with her, but that boundary was gone now. It bothered her that without the half-giant's presence she was seen as a weak and easy target and worst of all, that it was true. She couldn't even count the number of times that things had gone awry when she was on her own just because she was seen as an accessory of Alistair's. Being captured by the Heart pirates and walking aboard their submarine had only been one of many mistakes on her part.

Reaching out and grabbing a wisp of hair that had fallen loose of her braid, Sam threaded the strands over a fat finger as he watched her face. She still smelt so sweet, but there was something overpowering her usual scent. Something that smelt distinctly masculine. Briefly his eyes flickered towards the stranger that stood watching them intently from the corner. ' _That man?'_ Releasing the black hair from his fingers, Sam straightened up as he caught Law's smoldering look. _'Well, that was certainly new.'_

"Never seen a lowly man of Al's crew give me a look quite like that," he teased and pointed a finger towards Law's face. When Nyiji twisted to see, Law quickly schooled his features—he hadn't even realized that he had been glaring in the first place. "Now that's the look of a Captain!" Sam chortled.

Nyiji stifled a gasp as her mind raced, ' _Does he know who Trafalgar is? What do we do if he's figured it out?'_

Feeling as if she were suffocating, she threw herself after the merchant when his body made the slightest move towards Trafalgar. Clasping a hand onto Sam's upper arm and pressing her body against him, she grinned widely when his attention returned. If they wanted to get out of this mess alive there was only one solution she could think of and that was to distract Sam long enough for them to escape. She had managed to cipher some information at least, which would have to be enough.

"Actually, you know what Sam, whatever you got near here is fine. We are pressed for time and I don't want to keep Alistair waiting," she said sweetly.

The journal that had been forgotten was quickly flipped open as Sam thumbed a few pages, beady green eyes moving back and forth as he took in the information. Finding what he was looking for, he ripped a sheet from the book and handed it over. His eyes were dark as he watched her, the only sign that his cheery disposition was false. Nyiji swallowed as she accepted the paper, fingers slightly trembling. "Thank you." Without waiting for the situation to worsen, she turned and hurried towards the door only to freeze when she realized that it had been locked.

"Let me get that, ya?" she heard Sam's voice dripping like sugary sap as he sauntered over. As his shadow fell over her, a chill ran down her spine as a hand connected with her waist. Pressing close to her back, he reached over her shoulder and grabbed the lock on the door but took his time twisting it open so he could whisper against the shell of her ear: "Give Al my love, won't you Pup?"

He waited for a firm nod that disturbed her perfectly trimmed bangs before finally releasing her, letting her wrench the door open. Without sparing the merchant a look, she motioned at Law to follow her outside, grabbing his elbow as he passed. She didn't want to leave him alone with Sam for even a minute, too terrified of the end results. There was no telling what Sam would do. As the backdoor closed behind them a second later, the two left the small shop and headed a few paces away before breathing a sigh of relief.

"He was useless," Law complained, his voice monotonous so as not to betray his irritation.

Moving through throngs of people and trying to keep his emotions in check, he clenched his hands at his sides. He had hoped that the merchant would have panned out but it was only another dead-end. It was a bitter pill to swallow after raising his expectations. When Penguin had come running back on Moorham, elated that he had finally found a lead on Jiyan for them, Law had thought they were beyond anymore setbacks. He was tired of chasing loose threads to get to the knot.

"Not exactly," Nyiji whispered, voice small.

Abruptly pulled from his thoughts, he looked to her and saw her shoulders shaking beneath the thin shirt. Her skin was pale and her pupils were enlarged, her breathing shallow. He'd seen this before. ' _Fuck,'_ he mentally cursed. ' _I'm not prepared for this.'_ Unlike her first encounter with Bepo when he had been forced to sedate her, he had no medications on him to control her panic attacks. Before he could react and assist her in anyway, she began to frantically wave her hands in front of her face as if nothing was wrong.

"Don't worry! He did give me a lead, a name at least. Apparently, there is someone that sent us to Ji—uh, assigned us t-the more dangerous jobs. So all I need to do is figure out where to find someone named Yuudai," she rambled.

Law hummed, slightly mollified with the new lead. "It's a start," he agreed.

"Ok, so you agree I helped," holding her hand out as if she expected him to hand her something, Nyiji continued. "Now it's time to repay me."

"Repay you?" he looked at her incredulously. ' _Was she serious?'_

Her head bobbed and she gestured at her attire. "I can't keep wearing this one outfit and your boiler suits, and we _are_ in a shopping hub, sooo…"

"So, go buy yourself some clothes," he blanched at her.

The two stared one another down, expressions never changing. Nyiji, with her hand still poised in the air and Law, with both hands tucked into the front pockets of his jeans. When he continued staring blankly, clearly unwilling to be the first to cave, she groaned with frustration and threw her head back. "Obviously I do not have the money for that."

He grinned once more, face lighting up with an expression of pure mischief. "And you expect me to hand you an allowance, Puppy-ya? Without any work?"

"I just got you our next lead!" she snapped, throwing a hand and gesturing towards Sam's shop. His face didn't crack. "What more do you want?"

He pretended to hum and haw for a moment, examining their surroundings as he acted up for her. He had to admit, this was fun, he could see why Shachi was so troublesome all the time. Stretching up to his full height, as he came to the conclusion of his joke, Law stretched an arm over Nyiji and pointed to a little side-cart filled with desserts on sticks. "How about I help you out and you make me some of those?"

Glancing over her shoulder to look at the cake pops, Nyiji grinned. _'That would be easy.'_ Turning around she held her hand out to shake his, exclaiming "Deal!" just as he pulled his hand away from hers and tutted.

"Ah, ah, not so fast," he wagged a finger in her face and then thumbed over his shoulder. "Can't let everyone else go hungry, now can I?"

"So, dessert for the crew, fine, fine, I can do that," she rushed, motioning with her hands for him to hurry up so she could accept the cash and get moving onto a fresh pair of clothes all that sooner.

"And dinner," he added, watching her nod without any resistance. "three nights worth."

She waved her hand expectantly at him and he finally cracked, digging into his coat pocket where he'd stashed a good amount of beli. Taking his time flicking through the bills, he counted each one out at a leisurely pace. He enjoyed watching the frustration blossom over her features before he finally gave in and handed her the whole wad.

"I've counted, I know what's there. Bring back change," he ordered.

She nodded before vanishing from his sight. ' _She certainly is good at that,_ ' he thought, ' _she could probably give Isana a run for his money.'_

As she darted away to purchase herself some new clothes, Law turned on his heel and headed back to the submarine, confident and content in the fact that she would return when she was finished. At his side, Penguin reappeared, walking casually in step with him as he glanced over his shoulder after her.

"You sure that was a good idea?" he asked.

Rolling a shoulder Law dismissed his friends worry. "I might call her a prisoner, Pen, but she's here of her own accord now. Wouldn't put it past her to spend every dime though…"

Penguin grinned as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, head tilting to the side as a breeze struck him in the face. "Nah, she'll bring back change."

* * *

In the backroom of his little shop Sam grumbled as he locked the door and stomped back to his desk to wake the transponder snail. The little crustacean blinked its sleep crusted eyes at him and smacked its lips together. He had started that morning with a backache and a cold cup of tea; all signs that he was to have a terrible morning but nothing could have prepared him for what had arrived on his doorstep. Of all the people he had expected to waltz into his shop, Puppy Nyiji had never even made the list. And not only had she appeared all on her lonesome without that giant lump of a man, disaster incarnate, she had come bearing a stranger. Supposedly someone apart of their crew. Now Sam was no spring chicken, he knew trouble when he saw it, and that man had been something else entirely—and undoubtedly not what they claimed.

"Ruined what could have been a good thing," he grumped to himself and scowled at the snail as if it were to blame. It was the first time that he had been given an opportunity to get the young female pirate alone and at first, he had believed luck had come his way. ' _At first.'_

"Should have stayed in bed! Wake up, you useless morsel!"

Blinking and smacking its maw together a few mores time, it acknowledged its owner with a slow smile. "Busted, useless junk," Sam exclaimed at the crustacean. "Dial Kanta before I put you into a pot!"

Knowing better than to keep its master waiting, the snail began to ring: _'Pururururu.'_

While he waited, Sam set about fixing himself a large glass of brandy—no ice. He'd need something to settle the nerves in his stomach for the impending conversation. When the green crustacean finally connected his call with a ' _gacha'_ he swallowed hard as the mollusc's expression changed to match the person on the other line. Its eyes, once small and sleepy had become entirely overtaken by its pupils.

After a prolonged silence the snail finally spoke: "What?"

Sam wiped the sweat from his forehead as he replied: "You said to call if I spotted Pup."

The snail was silent for so long Sam almost thought the line had disconnected or that the crustacean had fallen asleep again, only for the creature to apathetically answer: "Huh? So?"

"Well, she was here…" he trailed off, eyes darting towards his drink before he took another large swallow.

"The girl?" the snail asked, voice lethargic as if the receiver didn't understand what the conversation was about.

"Yes, Alistair's girl."

There was another long silence. Sam took another nervous pull from his glass of brandy. Holding his breath, he wiped the sweat from his brow using the back of his hand. He wondered if he had enough brandy for this. Finally, the crustacean began to perk up, eyes brightening at the lids and working down to its mouth as the speaker spoke firmly: "Why the hell didn't you say so!?"

"Well, I believe I did." Sam frowned. He hated talking to these god damn fools, it played havoc on the lining of his stomach. A few more years of this though and he would be able to retire.

"Wha? No, you didn't," the speaker made a muffled cursing sound before he returned to speaking with volume. "Look, I ain't got time for your turnaround. Is she still with you?"

Struggling to swallow his mouthful to answer in time, Sam choked and spat droplets all over his chest. ' _Another shirt for the garbage,'_ he grimaced.

"No, uh—she left the shop, but she's still in Holfield—"

Interrupting the merchant, the snail roared with rage, its black eyes narrowing. Jumping with freight the glass nearly slipped from Sam's hand, spilling more droplets onto the floor to stain the carpet. By the time he had recovered, the crustacean was already screaming at him: "Just leave it to us! _Of course!_ What a crock! Alright, what's the twerp's description? I'll send Larou in."

"Hard not to recognize her," Sam started, grinning a little as he imagined the slip of a girl. "Tiny little thing, big tits, hair longer than my ass—goes to the floor. Ain't no one else in Holfield with hair that long."

Murmuring a near indecipherable reply before exclaiming a goodbye, the snail fell quiet a second later as the call was abruptly ended. Feeling that his part in the matter was finally settled, Sam downed the rest of his drink and collected his carving tools. The tiny little block of wood sat ready to be turned into a brand-new creation, each grain screaming out for his blade. A slow smile spread along his face as he settled down with an idea in mind. Perhaps the day had turned out alright in the end, after all, he now knew just who he would carve.

* * *

Nyiji returned to the giant yellow submarine in a happier mood and with an armful of bags containing a brand-new wardrobe and a set of new shoes, sans holes. It had been ages since she had been able to replace her clothes, she almost couldn't believe it was happening. Alistair would have never let her spend his money on such frivolous things, trusting her only to spend his coin on his desires or ship replenishments. There were times when she had secretly bought something for herself though and he'd never questioned where it had come from. Asking him outright for permission however was not a common occurrence on their ship, not after witnessing his response to a past event with Cyrus.

Stopping on the gang plank as her thoughts drifted towards her Amazonian crewmate, Nyiji frowned down at her blue-suede ankle boots. The water rippled beneath her, reflecting her turmoil. ' _I've never stopped to actually think about Cyrus's life before,'_ she realized. Resuming her walk and swearing to herself that once she was reunited with the woman she would apologize and spend more time getting to know her. For all of the thing's she had ignored, overlooked and brushed off, she would find a way to make amends.

"Hey, you made your way back," Penguin called cheerfully from the deck as she stepped up into his view.

She nodded and held up the bags, thick and bulging with clothes. "With souvenirs. How went your trip?"

Penguin responded with a noncommittal shrug as he hadn't actually done anything within the city except tail her and his Captain. "Was fine."

She smiled and followed him towards the front hatch, letting him take the lead as they returned to the confines of the submarine. "Where's Trafalgar at? I have some beli for him."

Unnoticed to her, he smirked—glad that he had been right. "He went back into Holfield to track down some information."

Heading down the steps and taking them two at a time, Nyiji worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought about Trafalgar going back into Holfield without her. She was sure he could handle himself if he ran into trouble but hated the idea that she might be left out of the loop should he find more information on Alistair. She didn't want to rely on the whims of someone else to decide what she should or should not know about the realities of her Captain's deeds.

Sensing her concern, Penguin spoke up as they reached the door belonging to her small cupboarded bedroom: "Don't worry. Cap just heard about some scientist that works here. If he finds him, he won't keep it from us."

"A scientist?" she asked as she set her bags into the room.

Penguin nodded, nearly dislodging the hat from atop his head. "He's hoping they will be able to read those chem sheets that you two brought back."

She had honestly forgotten about them. After reading the journal's notes that detailed Cyrus as some sort of test subject, her mind had practically blocked everything else out.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" she asked, interested in getting her hands onto the documents again. Unfortunately, Penguin shrugged in reply.

"I'm not sure, but he'll be back before we have to set sail," trailing off, he watched her fidget before an idea struck him. Thumbing over his shoulder towards the hall, he offered: "Hey, do you want to hang out with me and Shach'? we're not doing anything really. He got back early so we've got a lot of free time to kill."

Hesitating for only a moment, Nyiji agreed with a bob of her head, genuinely happy for the opportunity to spend some time with him. He led her down the hall towards the common room where a large group of pirates were sitting, lazily chatting with one another. Amongst them she spied Penguin's familiar redheaded sidekick shuffling a deck of cards and dealing them out onto the table. Behind him the soft glow of afternoon light spilled in from windows that usually displayed a thriving sea life while they were submerged.

"Oh man, how did you get around Mason's lockdown?!" Penguin exclaimed immediately when he noticed the group of men all sipping from brown bottles of beer.

Shachi, happy to see his friend, lifted his bottle in greeting and cheered: "Pen! Just in time! And you brought the little lady! Pop a squat!"

Scooting over to make room for the newcomers Shachi slapped a spot on the couch at his side and waved them over. She let Penguin take the seat beside his friend before moving to join him, sinking in on the end of the couch and offering a weak smile to the unfamiliar crewmembers. Politely, some of them tipped their heads in her direction but reserved their greetings for their real comrade. She didn't blame them for ignoring her. While the men chatted, she spent the time trying to place their faces. There had been so many men that came and went from the galley, all wearing the same boiler suit that even squinting failed to produce any familiar faces. She couldn't remember if she had ever run into them before or not.

Penguin, ever the peace-maker, bumped her shoulder with his own and pointed at each face to introduce her: "Nyiji, let me introduce you to a few of the favorites. This here is Clione," a man with sandy hair trimmed into a bowl cut smiled and waved. "And the two gents that look like they're constipated, are Minō and Tako."

Tako, a gentleman with long brown hair braided into two pigtails tucked beneath a yellow cap, glared at Penguin for his comment as he reached over and snatched a bottle away before the pirate could get his hands on it. Letting out a yelp, Penguin tried to reach over the table to retrieve his stolen beverage.

"Oh no," Tako started, "That's what you get for saying shit like that. I'm not going out of my way to steal beer from Mason for you to be a dick about it."

As Penguin continued flailing for the drink, Tako used his longer arms to hand it over to the seated female. As she accepted the bottle from his hands, he gave her a little wink and said: "Now you keep that bottle close, don't let Pen sway you into sharing."

"Dick." Penguin pouted and slumped back into his seat.

A moment later he had the good idea to snatch away Shachi's bottle, taking a swift pull before realizing that the glass had already been drained. The crew laughed at his suffering and Nyiji took the time to have a sip of her own beer before Penguin turned on her to try and steal a little sip.

"Samantha's always like this," Shachi advised her over Penguin's shoulder. "if you cave into him now, you'll never get rid of him."

Rounding on him in irritation, Penguin landed a soft punch into Shachi's shoulder that had the two descending into a small fist fight that knocked them both onto the floor.

"While I think its quite cute— _your foreplay_ —we got a game to play," Minō grumped, punctuating his point by tapping the bottom of his beer bottle on the table's edge.

"What are you all playing?" Nyiji asked, eyeing up Minō.

He was taller than anyone in the room with wide shoulders and a small head that made him resemble a shining pyramid. The luxurious shoulder-length blonde hair didn't help that comparison either. Contemplating whether or not he wanted to answer, he narrowed his round grey eyes on her. Nyiji was suddenly reminded of the fat koi her father had shown her as a child. Large lips opening and closing, he finally said to her: "Poker."

"Have you ever played?" Tako asked before he grew frustrated with the fighting pirates and launched a kick at them. "Oi! Don't disturb the fucking table!"

"It's his fault!" they both yelled as they pulled away from each other. After another brief struggle they reluctantly returned to their seats and took up that calm yet playful banter she was growing used to. They certainly acted like brothers.

"No," she answered Tako once she had the chance. "But I'm fine with watching."

Taking a few more pulls of her beer and beginning to feel the side effects, Nyiji hiccupped and giggled as the men finally began to deal their cards now that Shachi had returned to his seat. She knew very little about the actual game play or rules of poker but was able to at least follow who was winning and losing by judging each man's reaction. Time passed rather quickly while the game progressed, escaping without notice until the group caught Shachi tucking cards up his sleeve.

Throwing his hand down on the table, Tako roared with fury at the redhead: "You fucking swindler!"

Holding his hands up peacefully and playing as if he hadn't been caught, Shachi gave the man a toothy grin. "Come on, relax. Its not my fault my hands are good."

"You're loading the deck!" Tako snapped, leaning dangerously over the table.

About to protest the accusation, Shachi waved his hands in front of his face only for a card to drop from his sleeve onto the table. The group of men stared at it in silence, each stiller than stone. Voice coming out in a hoarse whisper and eyes never straying from the card, Tako seethed: " _Fucking. Ginger."_

The table flipped over as he threw himself at Shachi, tackling the pirate to the ground. Both were ignorant to the bottles that were sent flying into the air. Penguin, who comically hadn't had a chance the entire game to get a drink, flailed to grab one of the bottles before it hit the ground. Across from him, Minō began to throw leftover caps at the two on the floor, aiming purposefully for Shachi but failing miserably. It was complete chaos.

Tucking her legs up onto the couch and curling protectively into the cushion to avoid the fighting, Nyiji watched the men descend into madness. The only one who wasn't bothering to participate in the shouting and fighting was Clione, who casually swept pockets full of cash into his boiler suit while the others were distracted.

"It's not my fault!" Shachi wailed as the collar of his shirt was jerked painfully down, yanking him into a fist. Sprawled out on the ground with a growing swell to his cheek, he grinned as Tako reeled back to deliver another blow. "Come on, _Tahh-ko_ , it's not against the rules!"

" _Yes, it is!"_ the man yelled as he began to shake the redhead rather than strike him again. Shachi's body wobbled like a flexible sheet of metal.

As the fighting escalated into various shouts and the odd object thrown, a warbling came from a tube running along the wall of the common room, calling attention to any crewmember available. Recognizing the tube as the same communication device located in Trafalgar's quarters, Nyiji turned to face the back of the couch for a better vantage point as she tried to make out the speaker. Noticing her behavior and following the direction of her stare, Penguin cast a glance over his shoulder in search of whatever had stolen her interest before zeroing in on the tube's mouthpiece. When he realized there was a voice coming from it, he quickly sprung into action.

Moving through the mess, Penguin attempts to hush the still arguing group: "Ah, shit! Guys, guys!"

"Whose talking?" Nyiji asked him as he pressed an ear to the tube's mouthpiece, straining himself to hear over the noise in the room.

"Captain," he answered, causing a hush to fall over the room. It was like a magic word, a proverbial ' _stop'_ button. "Sorry, Cap'. Can you repeat that?" he asked once the fighting had ceased.

There was a long sigh before Law's voice filtered through the tube, repeating himself: "Whatever the hell you guys are doing, put it down and head up."

"Aye, sir," Penguin cheered. Turning and walking away from the tube, he downed the only bottle he had managed to save and set it onto the couch cushions for safety before jabbing a finger at Tako and Shachi who were still intertwined on the ground. "You two coming?"

"Ya, ya," they each grumbled, pulling apart to get up and right the overturned table.

It was strange how easily they could go from one extreme to the next without batting an eyelash. Even Killian could sulk for days after an altercation with a crewmember. She watched them clean the area like a well-oiled machine, taking care of the glass and overturned furniture first and passing a broom between them. There were no further arguments or jabs as they focused on their task. Once the bottles were taken care of and the only thing left were puddles of perfumed beer, they deemed the area safe enough should anyone come across their mess. They would deal with it upon the conclusion of their meeting. Walking in a cluster and making their way to the Captain's quarters, they left behind Nyiji who wasn't quite sure whether she should follow them or not. Pausing in the doorway and looking over his shoulder, Penguin caught her messing with her braid and chewing her lower lip in thought.

"You had business with the Captain too, right?" he reminded her. "You don't need to wait down here."

Covering a hiccup beneath her hand she flushed and moved to follow the pirate upstairs, swaying a little with every step. After a small fumble on the stairs Penguin kindly offered her a little assistance. Snaking an arm around her waist to support her, he teased her about being a lightweight. The comment reminded her of Killian, who always reprimanded her for drinking because of her low tolerance.

"—that everyone?" they heard the tail end of Law's question as they walked through the door.

Running a gloved hand through his hair, he caught sight of the two as they blundered into the room. Briefly registering the way that she clung to his mechanic's side with rosy cheeks, he returned his focus onto the task at hand. He didn't have time to deal with whatever was wrong with her.

Clione, who had been the first of their group to enter, answered his Captain with a short nod and a lisped " _Yes_ " as he took up a seat on one of the couches.

About to look over the room full of strangers in matching boiler suits, Nyiji feels her entire body lock up as she spots the furred navigator a few feet away. There is more distance between them now than there was when she was forced to clean the helm, but her hair still stands on end. Her palms feel sweaty and when she feels like she's about to move, her knees buckle and send her right back into Penguin's hold. Sharply inhaling she apologizes for stumbling and hopes he accredits it to her intoxication rather than fear. The last thing she wants is for these men to continue antagonizing her by sending their beastly crewmember after her. Steadying herself and burying her fingers into her braid, she keeps her gaze locked on the minkman. ' _Don't let it see you're afraid,'_ beginning to count to calm herself she continued. ' _Don't let them see you're afraid.'_

"I don't like this plan…" the minkman mumbled into his chest, head downcast as he stood at his Captain's side. His comment earned him a sharp glance and a quick shake of the head from Law as their crewmembers regarded him with perplexed expressions on their faces.

"What plan?" Shachi asked, words a little muffled from his swollen cheek.

Raising a suspicious eyebrow as he took in the redhead's injury, Law refrained from commenting on it and instead chose to get right into the thick of the meeting: "As you all know, I brought back documents from Jiyan. Some of which require translation. Well, the locals here had a bead on a scientist that could help me with that."

"That's great," Clione lisped. "Is he in the brig?"

Shaking his head, Law answered: "No. But I know where he is and have a plan to get to him."

Picking up on his Captain's wording, Penguin spoke up, voice filled with concern: "Get to him? So, he isn't here, in Holfield? Where is the guy?"

"He's working with some slave traders, apparently gave up his career for it."

' _Slave traders outside of the Grand Line?'_ Even involved with her line of work, Nyiji hadn't heard of anyone running a ring in the North Blue. There weren't many folks willing to participate in the purchase of a poor soul without the protection of the Celestial Dragons. Stepping out of Penguin's hold and drawing attention to herself, Nyiji practically walked into the Captain. "That's impossible."

"Puppy-ya," he sighed, recognizing the smell of alcohol on her breath. Perhaps he shouldn't have trusted her to go off on her own with his money. "Should I even—"

"They couldn't work outside of the Grand Line without the assistance of a high-ranking official," She blurted, unintentionally spilling her thoughts and interrupting him. "If the navy is involved..." a hiccup stopped her sentence short and Law eyed her questioningly.

Behind them Penguin nervously reached out in vain as if to stop her before covering his mouth with his hand and sighing heavily. He had taken advantage of her once in an intoxicated state, when they had first met back on Moorham. In order to further their cause, he had utilized alcohol as a truth serum to suss out what information she knew. It had only taken the smallest dose before she was releasing every unconscious thought. Admittedly he felt guilty for making her spill her secrets that way and now that she was drunk again, he was worried about her loose tongue. ' _This is going to be troublesome.'_

Clearing his throat, Law addressed the room without sparing the wobbling female another look: "That's exactly why we'll be going our separate ways."

Nyiji blinked as the room erupted with various comments in response, and her mind began to race. ' _Wait, what? Am I being sent away? Is he planning to leave me behind on Holfield?'_

Opening her mouth to speak, she found herself interrupted as a hand roughly slammed down on her shoulder and jerked her away from Law's personal space. Unable to keep her footing she finds herself tossed carelessly onto the floor as someone steps into her previous position.

"Captain!? you can't mean to repeat Jiyan? We can help you track this guy down!"

"I appreciate that, but slavers don't come out for large groups. They like easy targets," Law replied, trying to placate his crewmember with sound logic. "Which is what I plan to give them. It wasn't long ago they were spotted in the area. The locals gave up plenty of information about some nearby spots that they like to stop at, so once I find them, you will all wait four days. That should be plenty enough time for you guys to plan a little jail break."

"There has to be another way, someone else that can help read those papers," Shachi grumbled, joining the consensus of his fellow crewmates.

"I want to go with you."

The men in the room glanced at each other before dropping their attention towards Nyiji, watching her as she got back to her feet to stand resolutely in the middle of the room. She was glaring at the man that had pushed her down, though her mind was focused on Law's words.

"You're wrong, you don't need to go alone on this," tearing her eyes away from the Heart pirate, Nyiji looked at their Captain as sternly as she was capable. Later, she would blame this decision and her subsequent actions on the alcohol. "Anything could happen."

"Nyiji," Penguin stepped forward, hoping he could make her see sense. "Slave traders are dangerous."

"I'm of no value," she admitted to the room, hands clenched at her sides. "Which is why I'm the optimal choice to go with you. Instead of risking a crewmember, you're just risking a prisoner."

Holding her breath, she held Law's unflinching eye contact as she waited for his answer. Whether or not he would accept or decline, everything hinged on this. She couldn't trust someone else to discover the truth and reveal it to her. _Someone_ was to blame for those strange notes about Cyrus, for the deaths of her crewmembers and somehow her Captain was the one accused. It was up to her to clear his name and avenge those forever lost. ' _And if he is to blame?'_ her mind whispered. ' _If he is to blame, I have to know. Without a shadow of a doubt, I need to know. Even if that means putting my life in jeopardy, playing the part of a prisoner, even putting their lives above mine… I have to know.'_

Finally, Law let his chin tilt down in a brief nod of acceptance and her heart soared. "Alright."

* * *

 _Author's note;_ _Huge, HUGE thank you and shout out firstly to my boyfriend, Christopher for helping me edit this entire story but most importantly this chapter that I have been struggling with since July. Without his keen eyes, this definitely wouldn't have ever been completed._

 _And thank you to my friend, MissNanamiChan who not only helped me with a few paragraphs in here but kept up my inspiration throughout the whole process. She even drew a little picture of Nyiji and Law (my very first fanart for a story!) that I love so much it's the wallpaper on my PC. You can find the drawing, if anyone wishes to take a look, under her DeviantArt (with her same username) titled; 'He hates bread, Soooo...' I will try to put a link to it in my profile as well. It was such an honor and a great birthday present!_

 _Speaking of, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! And the reviews, follows and favorites. They continue to make my day and help me push forward with my writing. You guys are amazing just for reading! I'm really happy I've been able to begin introducing more Heart Pirates as well, and I hope you all enjoy their brief appearances. There will be more and yes, the fish themed names will persist!_

\- _ROH._


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Stomping across the deck with a purpose, Kizuato, a cruel man with a mean scar running down the center of his face, made his way towards the crew's quarters. Kicking the door open with a heavy boot, he headed inside the large open space where numerous cots swayed with sleeping bodies. There was no regard for the filth left behind where an imprint of his shoe size could be seen on the wood, there was only a laser focus on a single man that slumbered peacefully in their bed. Swinging with the gentle waves outside he let out a deep snore and Kizuato tensed. The snail resting in his palm made an aggravated noise as it was squeezed.

"Bishop!" He snapped when he came to a stop before the slumbering man's cot. " _Bishop!"_

Even dressed for bed, Bishop was a man that dressed to impress. In a powder blue set that was fashioned to look like a silken suit, he stirred awake without a wrinkle to his appearance. The only sign that he had actually been disturbed from his beauty sleep was a glare focused from his blue eyes. Legs swinging over the side of his cot, he straightened up and swiped his pointer finger underneath an eyelid to rid himself of rheum.

"What is it?" though his voice was smooth, melodic and low, there was no mistaking the anger buried beneath it.

Blundering past that, with no regard for what could happen to himself (after all, he'd earned enough battle scars in his life not to care about a few more) Kizuato thrust the transponder snail into the air between them. Checking the room discreetly for any unwanted lingering ears or eyes, he addressed the cause of his visit in a near whisper: "We found the girl."

The navigator's lips curved up in pleasure. "Is that so?"

Taking the snail from Kizuato's meaty fist, Bishop lifted the receiver to take the waiting call. The snail's eyes immediately widened until its sclera were gone, leaving only blown-out pupils to match the recipient on the other line.

"Kanta?" he asked to confirm the man's identity.

"Uh… ya," the snail mumbled, slow and lethargic. "Bishop. Been a long time."

"The point of this call, if you would," Bishop hastened to get the conversation over with, having woken without his patience.

The snail made a few incomprehensible mumbles before answering: "Found that girl… I've got Larou watchin' her now… so, uh…"

"So?" Bishop prompted when the man failed to finish his sentence. There was no reply. Before a blood vessel could burst in his temple, he carried on for the illiterate mercenary on the other line. "The girl is of no consequence to us. Why are you calling about her _now_ of all times?"

"Well…" another long pause and Bishop shot his companion a look, vexed that he'd been the one forced to handle the call in the first place. "She's looking into the company."

Kizuato made an irritating gesture that mimed the phrase, ' _this is why I came to you!_ '

Squeezing the receiver in his hand, Bishop let his eyelids fall closed and inhaled deeply to center himself. When he was sure that he had a handle on his tumultuous emotions he began to rush around the room collecting his clothes while speaking: "Speak quickly, Kanta. I do not have time for your stutters. Where is she, who did she speak to and did you take care of them afterwards?"

Throwing off his nightshirt and pulling on a brightly colored pastel replacement, Bishop dressed with a quickness. The snail remained in his hand through the ordeal, still silent as the man on the other line took his time answering. When Kanta replied, he spoke slower than dripping molasses: "Well… we're at Holfield right now… uh, Larou said something… like, girl's alone… and ya, the uh, merchant's taken care of."

"Don't stand there gaping! Get out of my way," Bishop snapped as he stepped around Kizuato and headed towards the cabin's door to slam it shut.

"What should we do? If we reveal ourselves too early…" Kizuato complained as he followed the pacing mercenary.

Bishop waved his hands to quiet him, unable to hear his own thoughts over Kizuato's complaints. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he continued speaking with Kanta: "Alone? That's fine. Is Larou still following her?"

"Ya," the snail yawned, "I uh _, think..._ so, do you want us to… end her or bring her under heel?"

"Think or know?" Bishop growled; blue gaze narrowed. The snail remained silent and smacked its lips together a few times as if chewing on tobacco.

About to unleash his temper on the crustacean, Bishop froze in the middle of the room as inspiration struck. Scanning the cots, he confirmed that each man sleeping was one of his fellow mercenaries, which meant the few remaining Rook Pirates and their Captain had to be upstairs. It wasn't unusual considering the half-giant had taken to hiding out at the helm whenever the mercenaries retired for the night, taking his loyal lapdogs with him. ' _And if they're all together,'_ Bishop thought with a dangerous smile. ' _Manipulating them will be child's play.'_

"Kanta?" he lifted the receiver to his mouth, grinning underneath his long nose. "Deal with her however you see fit. She's a little fish in a big pond and one little ripple won't cause us any issues."

The snail hummed, accepting the man's command and Bishop ended the call. Turning to face Kizuato, he handed the little crustacean over and told him to relax.

"Relax? You have something in mind then?"

"We keep Rook on the move and eliminate his followers in one fell swoop. Since the _rat_ has been so upset over losing his mutt, why not send him on a little chase?" Bishop answered.

Catching onto Bishop's insinuations, Kizuato grinned, the action forcing his face into two different directions as the skin pulled against his facial scar. With a plan set into motion the two exited the cabin and made their way to the helm in search of their targets.

Heeled boots clicking against the wooden deck, Bishop gracefully took the stairs to the helm and greeted the half-giant Captain with a flourishing bow: "Good evening, Captain!"

Standing over nine feet tall, his form so large it nearly blocked out the sky behind him, Alistair was caught with one meaty fist poised in the air. He glanced over at his navigator with a stormy expression upon hearing him and his mouth slammed shut. The atmosphere was uncomfortable, a sure sign that an argument had been interrupted. Catching a flicker of movement just behind the Captain's elbow, Bishop felt his smile grow as he spotted a greasy haired Killian sitting on the newly restructured railing. His expression was sour beneath a thickening growth of beard that he had yet to shave off, his eyes focused on the navigator. Bishop surmised that the two had been arguing over their missing crewmate. Underneath a slowly darkening skyline, he stepped forward and addressed them, prepared to spew poison under the guise of medicine.

"I have wonderful news for you both!" waving over his shoulder towards Kizuato who still held the transponder snail, Bishop carried on. "I've heard word from my associates and they've spotted Puppy!"

Bishop's words elicited an indecipherable expression from Alistair before it was quickly concealed beneath his regular gruff exterior. While disappointing, the chef's response more than made up for the Captain's composure. Killian hurtled off of the railing as if he had been struck by a hot poker, mouth agape and eyes full of hope.

"Where? Is she safe?" he all but shouted.

It was almost too much for the hired hand. Killian looked distraught as he stood before Bishop, all trace of his previous hatred gone and replaced with a desperate will to reconnect with his missing Pup. ' _It's just too easy,'_ Bishop thought excitedly. ' _It's not even a challenge. He's going to do all of my work for me, without even realizing it.'_

Animatedly gesturing with his hands as he spoke, Bishop pretended to be disappointed while shrugging with his entire body: "Well, you see, that's the real trouble. She's a ferret, that one. Hard to keep track of, but it sounds like she was on the run."

Killian nearly choked on his words as he muttered to himself: " _Runnin'?"_

He knew that she was not only fast on her feet but adaptable to whatever situation she found herself in. If she was on the move, she wouldn't make it easy on her pursuers and yet he couldn't help but worry. ' _What if they caught up to her?'_

Blue eyes turning the color of steel, Killian firmed his resolve. He had to find her. "Where was she?" he demanded.

"Three weeks out," Bishop answered, eyes moving onto Rook who stood stoic and silent. "Far south on a little unnamed spot of land near those islands shaped like birds."

Killian whirled on his Captain, ready to take the bait like a horse chomping at the bit: "We 'ave to go get 'er, 'elp her! If the winds on our side, we can make it there in less time!"

"No," Alistair rumbled, his voice deep and firm, resolute in his decision. His eyes were set on Bishop, never straying.

"Wh-what?" Killian gaped at his Captain for a moment, astounded that he was being denied a second time. Unlike before, they knew where she was now and that she was in trouble. ' _How could he say no?'_

Turning forward, hands back on the ship's wheel Alistair ground out: "Ye' 'eard me, boy."

As the two argued, Bishop tried to hide his own displeasure with the Captain's resistance. Even if the man's refusals worked in his favor, it could never curb the frustration garnered from actually dealing with Alistair. Reminding himself that patience and timing were key, he crossed his arms over his chest and plastered on another radiant smile. With his thoughts cooled he glanced over his shoulder to see Kizuato openly frowning. That wouldn't do. Catching the scarred man's eye and sparing him a threatening stare and a shooing gesture, Bishop watched him leave before he turned back to face the arguing duo. They couldn't afford the slightest slip up lest Alistair catch on too soon.

"Captain, it's _Nyiji._ We 'ave to go and get 'er," Killian stressed as he moved and vanished from sight behind Alistair's massive form. "We migh' not get 'nother chance."

Adamantly ignoring his stand-in first mate and chef, Alistair's expression remained impassive as he watched the auburn sky continue to darken, letting a tense silence descend. Realizing he had to step in to nudge the situation along, Bishop prepared himself to speak when a new presence inserted themselves. Booted heels clicked against the deck and a head of rainbow hair appeared in his vision as Cyrus swept by.

' _Where had she come from?'_ Bishop thought, brow tensing as he watched the woman. Twisting to look down the stairs he spotted Kizuato standing below. A brisk nod was the only confirmation of his assistance before he was gone again. Bishop grinned.

"Cyrus," Alistair greeted her with a slight tilt of his head.

"The whole ship can hear you two squawking down below. What the hell is going on?"

Killian turned to face her and explained the situation again while impressing once more upon their Captain to go after their missing crewmember. While he talked, Cyrus watched her Captain with a frown; silent and refusing to acknowledge Killian, he was clenching the newly built wheel so fiercely it was beginning to splinter in his hands. To anyone else this behavior might have seemed uncaring, perhaps even given the impression that their Captain cared naught for the plight of his crewmembers. Cyrus however knew all to well just how tortured he was over losing his _precious_ Pup.

"Captain!" Killian snapped, fed up with being ignored. "We 'ave to go and get Nyiji now!"

Having taken all he could, Alistair finally exploded and in one terrible swing cuffed the cook across the jaw, sending him to the floor. Rage rolling like thunder, he stomped over to the thinner man's body and pinned him with a boot to the chest.

"You listen 'ere. I gave ma' order! No."

A gentle hand found his arm, brightly colored nails and smooth mocha-skin standing out against his coat. Alistair's chin tilted slightly to take in the body attached to the hand, meeting Cyrus' gaze. "He understands, sir."

"The 'ell I do!" Killian snapped underneath his Captain's boot; gaze furious as he looked up at them. His expression was very reminiscent of his younger years, back when his temper was out of control.

Stepping between them and keeping a soothing hand on her Captain's arm, Cyrus quickly quelled the fight. "We have our destination, Killian. To turn around now would be suicide," she sternly informed him. "If it was feasible, you know we would do whatever we could."

Noticing a window of opportunity, Bishop cleared his throat and stepped forward: "If I may, sir. There is a solution… As our chef here is quite determined to bring the little miss back, and as we are still a ways out from the Grand Line, it would be possible to send out a small team to retrieve her. One that could meet up with us again at the port before."

Removing his boot from Killian's chest, Alistair turned to face the mercenary. His expression looked twisted, as if someone had forced a knife between his ribs. Admittedly it was difficult for Bishop to disguise the pleasure that expression elicited but he tried.

Pressing on before he could lose momentum, Bishop added: "And Cyrus here is more than capable of navigating herself. I mean, she's spent plenty of time working with me."

Shooting the blonde mercenary a sharp glare, Cyrus was forced to nod when her Captain's attention fell on her. He seemed to be mulling the idea over, actually considering the option. She was surprised. Beside her, Killian pushed himself back onto his feet looking just as perturbed as she was.

He didn't want to agree with Bishop but this was his chance, his opportunity to rescue Nyiji. "I could go wit' her. Just the two of us, bring Pup back," Killian suggested.

Bishop's heart soared with delight. The bait had been taken so easily, practically snapped up faster than a Sea King's breakfast.

"A small team?" Alistair muttered to himself, his words so quiet they were almost unheard. He looked over the remnants of his crew, the last two devoted pirates that had followed him into hell and back without question, protecting him even when he hadn't asked for it. They looked tired now. He knew firsthand how much they had suffered, and what they had lost. Yet beneath that sadness he could still see a fire burning in their eyes. He wondered when that fire would burn out.

Realizing what he had to do for the children he had raised, nurtured and clothed, he turned back to the helm and gave his order: "Thar's a 'sponder 'low deck. Take it."

Killian sprinted to find the transponder snail before his Captain could change his mind. As he passed Bishop, he slammed his shoulder into the mercenary and watched the man's smile grow in response. He might have willingly walked into Bishop's spiderweb of lies and deceit but that didn't mean that he would pretend to be grateful. Hitting the bottom of the stairs, he swore to himself that he would find Nyiji and return to settle the score with Bishop; their game was far from over.

"Captain," Cyrus stressed, her eyes watching the chef bound away. "What if we run out of time?"

Alistair slammed a hand down on her shoulder, pinning her to the spot as his shadow engulfed her frame. His grip was tight, strong enough to leave a bruise behind but she refused to wince. Leaning in close to her, he whispered: "Ye' won't run out o' time now, will ye'?"

Holding his eye contact so as not to appear weak before the half-giant, Cyrus acquiesced: "Of course not, sir."

"Pack light," he said then and gave her a great push towards the stairs that nearly sent her tumbling. "See if Kill' needs assistance."

Bishop was grinning nearly ear to ear on the inside, which translated into a very smug expression as he watched from the background. It wouldn't be much longer now. All he had to do was send the monkey's in the wrong direction, steer their Captain towards the Grand Line and everything would come full circle. Rook Alistair would never know what had hit him. ' _Two birds and one Giant,'_ he thought as he bid the Captain goodbye and left.

* * *

After Law had finished explaining the details of his scheme and placating his distressed crewmembers that were far from thrilled with his plans, he had sent them from his quarters. Physically pushing the last man out the door, he'd grumbled and shut himself inside. Some of their binders had been left behind, no doubt an excuse to sneak back into his quarters later and attempt to talk him out of his final decision. He snorted as he moved towards his bed, thoroughly exhausted. Throwing himself down and sprawling out across his covers, imitating a starfish he wondered if he would be able to squeeze in a nap.

The submarine's engine roared to life, rattling the contents of his room as the crew prepared for their departure. They were still waiting on a number of crewmembers to return from their shopping excursion which left them idling in the water, but once aboard they would be capable of leaving without any delays. Groaning and throwing a hand over his face as the room continued shaking, Law pressed his eyelids closed until he saw spots of light.

Tossing his head to the side and dislodging the hat atop his head, he stared at a small stack of books on the bedside dresser. They were close to vibrating off the side. He had left them there after forcing Puppy to clean his quarters, hoping to do some light reading on his own time and completely forgotten about them. Long tattooed fingers stretched out and held the stack of books steady. Reading the spines from a slanted angle, he contemplated which one he had enough time to read when a feminine cry startled him out of his staring contest with the texts. Shooting up and bracing himself on his elbows, he stared at the entryway.

Stumbling into the front room and drunkenly tripping over her own two feet, Nyiji cried out an apology as she nearly fell face first into the coffee table: "Sorry!" Law felt his eyebrows vanish into his hairline as he watched her blindly search the room for him. Suppressing a sigh when she finally spotted him on the bed, he regretted not trying to fall asleep earlier. "Oh! I shouldn't—you're…"

She made a weird gesture with her hands as she stepped away from the coffee table before her words fell short. Looking awkward and swaying in place, she finally spits out the last of her sentence and explains her reason for returning: "I forgot to give you back your change."

His expression was quickly concealed as she moves towards the open archway. He is reluctant to admit that he's surprised not only with her reappearance but with the fact Penguin had called her actions beforehand. However, he was determined not to lose that bet. After letting her squirm for a few minutes longer, Law casually waved a hand in the air and spoke: "You can keep it."

She looks uncomfortable with the declaration, shifting on the balls of her feet before seeming to come to a decision. With his eyes trained on her, Nyiji pushes forward and enters his domain while fishing into her pockets to retrieve his beli. Without exchanging any words, she comes to a stop at the end of the bed, inches away from his knees and thrusts the money towards his face. She doesn't even blink as she waits for him to lean forward and accept the cash.

"Thank you," she says after he has taken the beli.

Nodding, Law leaned forward so he could place the cash into his jeans back pocket only to be interrupted by a sudden metallic shriek. Whipping his head up to look over her shoulder, his eyes widen as a heavy force hits the submarine and rocks the room.

"What was that?" Nyiji cries out while covering her ears as the shrieking increased in pitch. She could feel the sound vibrating throughout the room.

He is quick to his feet and prepared to investigate when the submarine shifts and jerks. Stepping back to catch his footing, he curses as his ankle smacks into the bed frame making him stumble. Before he can recover his balance however his attention is directed towards small hands grasping at the front of his shirt as Nyiji flailed into him. She's pulling and clinging to him and before he can stop it, their bodies begin to fall. Tucking a hand under the back of her head to protect her as they land in a heap, he shouts: "Oi! What the hell was that?"

Law quickly looked her over for any injury before pushing her off of him and getting to his feet. Looking sharply at her, he grumbled: "Who the hell let you drink anyway?"

Not waiting for an answer, he strides across the bedroom and collects the nodachi that had fallen to the floor. His pace is hurried as he moves to investigate the original disturbance. "Wait!" he hears Nyiji cry from inside the room, but he's already out in the hallway.

In the corridor his men are frantic and rushing between levels as they confirm not only the submarine's state but one another's safety. One man gives Law a brief overview that the lower levels are safe before the Captain's attention is drawn towards the Polar Tang's front hatch where Penguin is standing and staring out in horror.

"Oi, Pen," Law barks to garner the mechanic's attention. "Report!"

Hand resting atop his hat, Penguin turns to look back at him. Even with the distance between them, the panic on the mechanic's face is clear. "Marines, Captain! They've latched onto the Polar Tang to keep us from leaving!"

His heart leaps into his throat, chest constricting as he breaks into a run to meet Penguin at the door. One hand bracing along the frame, he leans his body out into the open air to see. "Fuck me," he groaned quietly as he took in the giant metal claws that had latched onto the wooden deck. From the claws he could see thick chains running all the way back to the piers on either side of the vessel and rows upon rows of well armed uniformed navy men.

"How many of our men are still disembarked?" Law mutters to his mechanic as Penguin's head appears beneath his arm.

"Five unaccounted for," Penguin answers without delay, eyes focused on the marines staring them down. "Should we power down the engines?"

Hearing a throat clear, Law looks up towards a platform that hangs over the docks to spot an Officer leaning casually against the railing. "No," he answers as he stares up at the man clearly in charge.

A pair of hands suddenly press into his back, bracing against him before the person is ducking underneath his outstretched arm and rushing onto the deck. Spotting the head of black hair, braided into a long tail, Law reached out to try and grasp the back of her shirt only to miss.

"Oi! Puppy-ya!" he yells and darts forward to catch her before she can make the situation worse.

Wrapping an arm around her waist and hoisting her up into the air, kicking and beating at his arm, Law glares when he notices that in his distraction the marine above has moved into a better vantage point for which to view them. The marine's eyes narrowed speculatively, as if attempting to ascertain their identities and relation to one another or the threat they might pose.

"Wait! Wait!" Nyiji pleads, trying to remove the arm binding her against the pirate. "We are here under contract!"

"Puppy-ya," Law warns against her ear. "They don't care."

A plank drops heavily against the side of the submarine, drawing the pirate's attention away from one another and towards the bow where a few younger marine recruits begin to board without hesitation. Blind courage paving their way, the marines stepped into the pirate's den. Law immediately scowled and Nyiji quit resisting his hold, hands instead curled around his arm as she stared at the soldiers in surprise. Behind them, Penguin shuffled nervously from foot to foot.

The marines lined up and stood at attention, weapons shouldered and relaxed as they curiously took in the submarine's appearance. They had seen a few navy-owned vessels come through Holfield before, but never before had any been painted a vibrant shade of yellow or marked with a pirate's jolly roger. Thus, knowing the capabilities of a vessel that could submerge, they had felt it prudent to act before it could escape port.

Fingernails digging into Law's arm, Nyiji leaned as far forward as she was able to. "We're here under contract!" she yelled, hoping that the marines would simply let them go. It was a fool's wish, really. They didn't even wince, completely unaffected by her plight.

"Suppose you are," a masculine voice drawled. The tide of marines parted to allow a single man, their superior to step forward. Decorated in heavy medals and golden strands that hung off the shoulders of his uniform, he looked every bit as young and green as the men that surrounded him. Running a hand through his copper locks, the marine grinned and continued speaking: "The natural order in life however demands that we arrest all those considered unlawful."

Squeezing his arm around her hips unconsciously, Law steadied his footing and felt his muscles go taut in preparation. Keeping his eyes on the marine, he signaled over his shoulder with a small lift of his chin before swiftly turning and throwing Nyiji through the air. Understanding and anticipating the action, Penguin easily caught her before she could spill to the ground. Arms wrapped beneath her legs and shoulders, he beamed at her from beneath the rim of his hat as her hands grabbed onto him in surprise.

"Hey there," Penguin greeted her before turning his attention back onto his Captain, acutely aware of the way Law was now gripping the hilt of his sword.

"Natural order states that the strong make their own rules," Law answered as he unsheathed his nodachi in one drawn-out motion. His mouth twisted into a self-righteous smirk as he stared his opponent down. He wasn't sure how the copper-haired marine had been able to move so quickly from the platform above, down to the deck without his notice but he was willing to find out. "So, lets see your strength."

Head tipping back, the marine let out a bellowing laugh that incited his fellows to join in. There was no move to draw the sword at his hip or an obvious stiffening of his muscles to indicate he was ready for a fight. It was exactly as Law had thought. These men were not looking for a fight but rather an easy arrest if it could be managed. They must have been hoping that their bravado and chains would have been enough to frighten the Heart pirates into submission. Law couldn't wait to crush the man's ego beneath his heel.

"Quite the brass tacks on you!" the marine jeered.

Law returned the sentiment and responded by flashing the point of his nodachi threateningly at the man. His knuckles were white and clenched around the hilt as he attempted to goad the marine into making the first move: "I can say the same about you, Marine-ya. You've made a mess of my deck and invaded my personal space. I admit, I'm not a very forgiving man, but leave now and perhaps we can avoid some bloodshed."

The marine raised his chin until he was looking down his nose at the pirates, copper bangs falling into his vision to create what Law assumed was a well-practiced sneer. His eyes swept over their little group with scrutiny before landing on the two over Law's shoulder. The woman, now held in the arms of another, met his gaze and he felt his lips pull upwards as the action caught Law's attention. It was an unintentional twitch as Law made an aborted effort to shield them from sight, but it was enough to identify the two as subordinates. ' _Poor backup, and he's clearly defensive about the woman.'_

Satisfied with his observations, he finally moved to grab his own blade. In one smooth motion the sword was swept through the air, mysteriously reaching across the distance to cut the shirt on Law's chest and spill a line of blood onto the deck. Reacting, Law let out a war cry and charged forward to meet the Navy Captain's blade with his own. Metal clashed as the two met, each man leveraging their weight against the other, teeth gritting and jaws locked.

Surrounded by men that cheered their Captain on from the sidelines, the two continued to press one another for give until Law saw his opening. Stupidly bolstered by the presence of his men, the marine pressed his free palm against his blade in order to add more pressure against him and Law acted. Tattooed fingers swung out to the side and summoned a swirling vortex that made nearly three rotations before exploding to cover the area in a great blue sphere. " _Room!"_

Sensing the next strike just as their blades broke apart, the marine stepped back just as the nodachi cut through the air in a fluid stroke aimed at his middle. Planting his foot forward, Law drove the blade ever forward while gritting his teeth. A sound not unlike metal scraping against stone rang out, thick and heavy, reverberating up the length of the nodachi. Law was stunned, golden irises locked on what should have been a wound in the marine's side where he could instead see an unusual black colored hardening of the skin. There was no blood or cut, not a scratch on the surface of mysterious black. Dropping to the side and rolling out of the way of the marine's returned attack, Law came out a short distance away and frowned. He couldn't take his eyes off of the man's side. He had never seen anything like it before.

"Am I strong enough for you, _pirate_?" the marine taunted as he chased after Law, the black steel of his skin returning to bare flesh.

Moving around the submarine's deck, the two met once more and traded blows that rang out and sent forth showers of sparks. The Navy Captain purposely left numerous openings as if to taunt Law, that when acted upon were easily deflected with his blackened skin and then countered. It was increasingly frustrating for Law. He had never been this hard pressed in a fight before and had yet to land a single blow on the marine where in contrast his own body was riddled in small gashes. Tired of being toyed with, Law lashed out with a boot and caught the marine off-guard, sending him into the surrounding mob. With a second to himself, Law palmed his bloodied chest and sucked in a calming breath of air to steady his thoughts. If he continued the battle this way, there was no hope of winning. He had to find a way around the Navy Captain's defenses. With a bloodied hand he lifted two fingers and shouted: " _Shambles!"_

At the same moment Nyiji cried out: "We have to stop them!" while trying to squirm out of Penguin's arms. Multiple sets of eyes turned on her as the Navy Captain vanished. Law realized almost too late that his devil fruit had failed to grab his intended victim.

Nyiji reared forward, nearly spilling out of Penguin's arms and onto the deck when she felt wind whip across the front of her chest. Wide eyed she took in the sight of the two men's sudden appearance, where Law rested on one knee with his nodachi high above his head, blocking the Navy Captain's sword from decapitating her. Recoiling back into Penguin's chest, she squeezed his shoulders and felt mildly comforted when he took a step back.

She had almost been killed. _'If Law had been a second too late,'_ she shuddered.

Using all of his weight to throw the marine's sword back, Law pushed until his opponent was forced to move away while remaining stationary to protect the two at his back. Before he could stand, the marine charged again. ' _He's getting faster,'_ Law realized as his blade vibrated with the impact.

"Get her back inside," he commanded over his shoulder.

Bouncing Nyiji in his arms, Penguin quickly pivoted to follow the order. Catching movement from her peripheral, Nyiji twisted to look over his shoulder and shouted a warning: "BENEATH YOU!"

Heeding her warning Law looked down to find a rope of braided leather wrapped around his ankle. Before he could shake himself loose the rope tightened and he was forced to defend himself from another rapid flurry of attacks. All he could was steel himself in an attempt to keep his balance. One particular hard strike slammed into Law and sent him sliding back across the deck, further ensnaring him in the trap.

"Wait! Nyiji!" he heard Penguin cry.

Landing on her belly, Nyiji appeared between Law's legs as she quickly reached for the trap around his ankle. She had seen this used before and rarely had any pirate been fortunate enough to free themselves in time. Hearing the sounds of a crank turning, Nyiji tried to work faster. Above her, Law continued to fight, unaware of his situation. A loud crack sounded across the piers as the rope snapped taut and drug the two of them ferociously across the deck. Responding quickly, Law secured Nyiji against him using both arms.

When the two came within range, the Navy Captain drove his sword down and narrowly missed Law's head. Sword embedded into the wooden planks, he glared at the duo as they were swept away before turning his sights onto Penguin. "Two down, one to go," he said as he signaled the waiting marines to finally join the fray.

Taking another step closer to the Polar Tang's front hatch with his face concealed beneath the brim of his hat, Penguin carefully watched the marines as they cornered him. In a tight surrounding circle, he waited until their attention and numbers were far enough away from his Captain before withdrawing a pair of customized pistols out from behind his back. Flashing a grin and taking them by surprise, he began to unleash a barrage of bullets into the crowd. Making every shot count, he kept them at bay and did his best to thin their numbers with the limited ammo at his disposal until a few began to return fire.

Dropping into a roll and taking shelter behind a fallen marine, he groaned: "I knew this would happen."

A spray of bullets flew past his head, forcing him to stay behind cover as those with melee weapons steadily moved closer. Cursing when a curved saber swung over his head, Penguin blocked the blade's attack with the barrel of one pistol while taking aim with the other. Pulling back on the hammer with his thumb, he squeezed the trigger and took out his opponent. As their body fell and revealed a space between the mob of marines, his blue eyes focused on his returning crewmembers. "Brilliant."

With a plan formulated, he vaulted over his shelter and began to fire wildly to distract the marines from his backup. Aiming specifically for those with rifles and pistols of their own, Penguin never stopped moving until he heard his Captain let out a shout: "Dammit!"

Head tipping back, he watched as his Captain and Nyiji were lifted into the air, high above their heads and out of reach. Dangling by one leg and forced to support both of their weight, Law groaned as the rope began to cut off the circulation in his foot.

"W-what do we do?" Nyiji asked as she looked down at him.

Arms secured around her waist and cradling his nodachi against her back, Law examined their predicament. He had been lucky to escape a broken leg but if they remained in the air any longer, he was risking dislocating his limb or worse. One look at the deck below where his men were fighting off the marines confirmed that a fall from their height could be just as damaging. Regardless, they couldn't just stay put.

"Hold on, Puppy-ya!" he ordered as he came to a decision. Giving her plenty of time to wrap her arms around his knees and cling for dear life, he released her waist temporarily to secure his nodachi. "I'm going to cut the rope, alright?"

When she nodded, forehead brushing against his pant leg, he bent at the waist and prepared to sever the rope holding them captive. About two feet away from his room and swinging like a pendulum he pressed one arm back over Nyiji to keep her body in place. If he missed his first strike, their swing would only worsen and the grip on his ankle would increase, giving him only one opportunity.

"Ready?" he asked. When she nodded again, he swung his sword with all of his might and cut through the pulley, plummeting them back towards the submarine's deck. Cradling each other, Law waited until his vision turned blue before he lifted two fingers off the hilt of his nodachi to cry out: " _Shambles!"_ and teleport them closer to the deck. It was still a rough landing as his back took the brunt of their impact, but they had survived.

Nyiji slumped over his body like a wet blanket, filled with relief. Mimicking her, Law let his head fall back to rest. The relief he felt in his leg was immense even though it still throbbed painfully. Their moment was quickly interrupted when Law spotted the familiar copper-haired Navy Captain stalking towards them, blade at the ready. With no time to shove her off of his body, Law was forced to roll them to dodge the incoming blow as the marine's blade slammed into the deck over and over again as he chased after them.

Using the enemies chopping attacks to his own advantage, Law pushed them into one final roll that ended with him on his back to deflect the sword coming for his head. Their blades skirted one another, sparking as his nodachi guided the rapier into the deck, right beside Nyiji's foot. Her ankles practically curled around his neck out of fear, working for him as Law leaned himself upright and surprised the marine by sweeping the blade across his chest. Blood dripped onto the deck as his opponent stepped back, stunned by the attack and nearly losing his grip on the rapier. He might have lost his weapon entirely had it not unjammed from the deck as he fell back.

Golden irises narrowed on the bloody wound as Law realized how he could defeat the marine without the hardened black skin interfering. Not wanting to lose momentum, he hoisted Nyiji against his body and stood to engage his opponent once more. Hanging upside down, hair lying on the ground, she held fast to his body as if aware of what was required of her. From her position she couldn't see much except for the men fighting behind them and the length of rope still bound around his ankle. Noticing the cord hovering a few inches off of the deck, she realized Law's intentions and moved herself out of the way as he lashed out with his captured leg. Though she couldn't see the result, she heard the impact of his boot connecting with solid muscle.

Reeling back the Navy Captain was unprepared as Law utilized the extra reach of the braided rope to his advantage. Tattooed fingers twitched and moved the rope as it flew through the air, obeying his whims as it wrapped around the marine's throat in an unforgivable choke.

"Behind you!" Nyiji suddenly cried as she spotted feet charging towards them.

Turning to take care of the men charging his blindside, Law swung his leg out with all of the force his body could muster and sent the copper-haired fool sailing. The marine spun and twisted as he unraveled before colliding with the group, knocking them all down like bowling pins.

Palming the deck for balance, Nyiji unwound her legs from his shoulder as she was finally released from his hold. Her timing couldn't have been better as her foot smashed into the head of a marine that had managed to sneak up on them. With a flick of his fingers, Law sent the unconscious man into the water and shared a look with her. She couldn't be sure if it was gratitude but there was no time to ponder as he turned away to face the chaos on the rest of the deck. _'Time to end this,'_ he thought with grim determination.

Drawing his blade up, Law bellowed a warning to his crewmembers: "TO THE DECK!"

Heeding his cry, many dropped to the deck in the midst of fighting their opponents. One dropped to cover a crate, cradling it protectively beneath his body. With his crew safe in seconds, Law performed a great sweeping slash across the submarine's deck, assisted by his devil fruit that cut those still standing clean in half. Their torsos floated into the air, accompanied by a cacophony of confused screams as they realized they were still very much alive.

A few marines that had also managed to evade resumed their attack on the Heart Pirates, trading physical blows in their desperation to turn the battle back in their favor. From the crowd of men, Penguin took aim at someone running for his Captain and fired his last shot. Catching his Captain's eye, he took in Law's labored breathing and began to make his way over until he noticed the blue sphere flicker.

Taking in the scene with a dark expression, Law focused with the last vestiges of his energy on all of the bodies hovering within his sphere of control. He had to secure their victory before it was too late. Legs shaking as if he were physically holding their bodies, he endured his body's struggle and thrust two fingers into the air. Barrels sitting on the piers lifted into the air and with a stroke of his hands flew alongside the bodies before snapping together into a bizarre jumble of body parts and wood. When he was finished, he let them drop to the floor and his room finally flickered out.

"That's… that was incredible," Nyiji whispered as she stared at the bodies. She had no idea how they were still alive as marines crab walked and rolled around, completely disabled. There were hands attached at the wrists to barrels, heads stuck to planks of wood and torsos without any limbs. One barrel in particular, with a few hands on each end came rolling towards her when a boot stopped it in its tracks. Pulling her attention up towards Law she found him panting with exertion. His olive complexion was too pale, sweaty and his body was coated in blood. He wavered over the barrel.

"Wait!" she started when he swayed and then fell. Dashing towards him, she caught him before his body hit the deck and slid to her knees with him. It reminded her of their struggles back on Jiyan, when he had been enclosed in sea stone chains and hiding his internal struggles.

"Are you alright?" she asked, worried as she rested his body against her knees and held him upright.

Slapping a hand on the deck to steady himself, Law pushed out of her hold to struggle back to his feet. Behind them the marine Captain yelled for attention: "You won't leave here, pirate!" Amber eyes flashed in his direction before dismissing him. The man was nothing more than a head on a barrel.

Lingering close to Law's side with her hands at the ready in case he lost his balance, Nyiji spotted movement above. More marines were appearing, running to the aid of their comrades, limiting their chance of escape. Reaching out and brushing her fingertips against his arm, she nearly jumped when he turned, already aware of the situation.

"Penguin!" he called to his mechanic, ignoring the severed head as it continued yelling at them.

Quick to his side, Penguin looked over his Captain with a critical eye as he answered: "Sir?"

"Get the men back immediately and prepare our leave."

"Already done," Penguin answered, instantly soothing his worries. "Let's get you inside."

Bending and slipping an arm underneath Law's shoulder, Penguin lifted Law onto his side and helped him move forward on shaky legs. He was barely able to stand on his own, Law realized with gritted teeth. "Puppy-ya," Law barked over his shoulder. She leapt to his side right away, infinitely more sober now that the fighting had ended. "Get inside."

Filing in alongside the group of pirates that were heading back inside, Nyiji noticed a few men lingering in the hallway to greet their comrades with brisk nods or pats on the back. Someone waited by the hatch to close it behind them, shouting out: "Everyone's inside! We're secure!"

"What about the hooks?" another asked.

"Bepo has it covered!" Penguin shouted over his shoulder, answering his crewmates concerns as they peered out the hatch's porthole. "We're gonna lose a little material, but nothing we can't fix."

"What about maintaining pressure?" Law asked as they stopped in front of his room. Nyiji opened the door for them without a word and moved to let them step inside. His eyes trailed after her as they walked past.

"Covered," Penguin answered. "Shachi's working on it already and we've got everyone else prepared for any leaks. We'll submerge right away, get out of sight before more marines come. We might not be able to go very deep, but it should be enough."

Letting his head fall forward as he was placed unceremoniously onto the couch, Law slumped and let himself relax into the cushions. His entire body was aching. Penguin turned after setting him down to locate a blanket, already prepared for the display. They both knew he had overexerted himself.

Standing in the doorway and watching the two, Nyiji awkwardly cleared her throat before asking: "H-have you ever done that before?"

Tossing the blanket over Law, Penguin bent and attempted to collect his shoes. He was such a doting individual, clearly well versed in taking care of his grumpier counterpart. Trying to shoo him away, uncomfortable with her gaze on them, Law groaned: "Quit it, Pen."

"You'll only complain later that you didn't take them off," Penguin returned fire as he grabbed Law's ankle and pulled the loafers off.

Tipping his head back to rest against the couch in frustration, Law's eyes fell towards Nyiji as he considered answering her question for a distraction. She was waiting rather patiently, lips pressed together and fingers ruining her braided hair. As his last shoe was pulled off, he sighed, having come to a decision.

"I've never moved that much before," he admitted. "The more there is to lift, separate, the more difficult it becomes. The higher it is, the more I have to reach and the less control I have."

He didn't miss the way Penguin glanced up at him, expression curious about the revealed information. It was nothing that the mechanic hadn't heard before but it certainly wasn't information usually given out to just anyone. Covering up a little smile beneath the bill of his hat, Penguin's grin only became more pronounced when Law gently kicked him in the stomach.

"Then, _this_ happens every time you push yourself?" she asked, hoping for more details. "Is that normal?"

Law didn't answer, choosing instead to press his lips shut as he silently regarded her. He wasn't sure whether she was asking in regards to her own abilities, genuine concern or out of self preservation but the way her voice pitched told him it might have been the first. He could tell he wasn't the only one to notice her tone either as Penguin cast a secretive glance in her direction, his jaw clenched. Law hadn't told his crewmembers about her abilities and from the look on his friend's face, she hadn't either.

Feeling out of place Penguin stood and excused himself to tend to more important matters, shelving his thoughts for a later time. "Don't let him get up," he warned Nyiji as he walked past and closed the door on his way out.

Moving further into the room and feeling his eyes following her, Nyiji hesitated before she took a seat on the opposite couch and faced him. The golden hues of his irises were burning like a lit candle, surprising her with their ferocity. In comparison, the rest of his body was obviously limp and useless beneath the blanket. Though Penguin had unintentionally placed Law's health on her conscience, she felt there was little she could do to actually assist.

"Would you rather be in your bed?" she asked after a long moment of silence. "I could help—"

Cutting her off with a sharpened look, Law answered: "Until we're safe, I'm not moving. Might have to get up again," tilting his head towards his desk, he directed her. "Go open up the tube. Keep an ear out for Bepo. I need to know what's going on."

Back on her feet to obey his wishes, Nyiji popped the mouth off of the tube and let loose a stream of voices. Each one was shouting from somewhere inside the sub, their voices tinny and almost unintelligible while another rang out clear directions for everyone to prepare for leaks. It made her shudder. She didn't want to die aboard this submarine at the bottom of the ocean. Unknowingly her fingers flexed at her sides, covered in a sheen of light.

"Penguin said not to let you get up," she said without facing him.

"Penguin isn't the Captain," he griped.

She noticed that though his words were harsh his tone belied another meaning. He would do whatever it took to keep his crew safe even if that meant putting himself into harms way and ignoring sound advice. Biting her nail, she thought of how readily she had done the same, throwing herself into danger just to save his life. The life of someone that wasn't her own Captain. Bubbling with guilt she briefly wondered what Owens would think of her behavior but everywhere she looked, he was nowhere to be found. She was on her own, making her own choices for the first time in her life. It left her with the realization that it didn't matter _why_ she had saved him, be it instinctual, self preservation or even because of their deal, the matter was over with. At least this way she wouldn't have to see the expression of loss on Penguin's face. She had seen enough of that in her lifetime.

A squeaky voice called out from the tube suddenly, drawing all attention towards it: "Submarine's submerging, all hands brace for a rough start!"

Nyiji turned on her heel to relay the hurried order for Law when the Polar Tang began to rattle dangerously. Grabbing onto the desk for support, she waited the turbulence out. The engine was roaring with life and books shook wildly on the shelves, a few things even rolled off of Law's desk and onto the floor.

"Your navigator sure has a steady hand," she complained with a smile, hoping that her nerves weren't showing. "We're submerging safely, right?"

"He wouldn't do it if it wasn't," Law answered, easing her worries considerably. "Check the window."

"The window?" she asked before recalling the porthole in his bedroom.

He gestured with his chin towards the room and Nyiji hurried, surreptitiously stealing glances at his sagging form on the way. With the lights off throughout his quarters she couldn't make out the surroundings of his bedroom though she spotted the curtained porthole with ease. Forcefully pulling the curtains apart she revealed the piers of Holfield, still surrounding them on all sides and slowly rising as the water level rushed up the side of the window. To the left of the window she could see a thick chain resting against the submarines side and worried her bottom lip. There was no way they would be able to recede into the waves without damage to the sub. Slowly the chain grew taut as they sunk lower and lower.

"Describe the situation," Law called from the other room.

Startled, she blinked and answered: "Oh! Well, I can see the piers. The chains are still attached, but the marines are…. Gone?" pressing herself against the porthole for a better view she noticed the city's upper decks were completely empty and void of life. Adjusting her angle until she could see the entirety of Holfield she realized it wasn't just missing marines but residents, visitors and merchants. Holfield was a ghost town.

"Puppy-ya," Law's voice was warning when her silence persisted. "What is it?"

"I don't see anyone, not even those you fought or even the shopkeepers. It's like the city has been evacuated."

Red lights suddenly turned on above her head, illuminating the room and causing her to flinch against the wall. Expecting the worst and bracing herself for a siren or alarm, she held her breath and waited until she heard Law calling her name. Timidly exiting his bedroom, she spotted him still on the couch looking irritated but otherwise unconcerned. She notices that the blanket has slipped from his shoulders to rest in his lap but he's done nothing to fix it.

"It's the emergency lights," he says as he glances at the little domed bulbs overhead, located throughout the submarine as a safety precaution. He grimaces, knowing what would be coming next as the speaker tube came alive with shouts and orders.

Amongst the mixed voices, Bepo cries out: "Everyone brace themselves!"

The Polar Tang lurches as it is met with resistance from the chains binding it, temporarily stopped and struggling to pull free. Out of reach from the couch, Nyiji tumbles to the ground and lands at Law's feet. His shoes roll across the floor as the room tilts upright with an awful scream of torn metal filling their ears. Reaching out to steady her before she could join his shoes on the opposite side of the room, Law closed his hand around the back of her shirt and pins her to the ground.

Looking up in surprise, Nyiji spots the grimace on his face as his teeth grind together. He's struggling to hold not only her weight but his own, his knuckles white from the vice grip he has on the couch to keep them both steady. The blanket falls between them and she nearly gasps as she sees the awful muscle spasms that he had been hiding. Sweat beads on his brow and his arms shake, clearly out of his control.

Gravity shifts again as the Polar Tang finally wrenches itself free, spraying metal and wood in its wake. "We're free! I need a status report!" Bepo barks out, voice heavy with stress.

Scrambling to hold onto the couch legs and alleviate Law's struggle, Nyiji crawled closer to his knees while they waited for the speaker tube's next response. "Is that it? We're safe?" she asked.

Law doesn't answer, instead he releases a few short puffs of air in an attempt to control the pain racing through his body. He's vaguely aware of Nyiji climbing onto the cushions to join him, her lips opening and closing as she searches for some sort of comfort or distraction she can provide. No longer needing to hold her weight, his body visibly melts. His hand lays between them and his fingers wildly twitch and stiffen until its nothing but an angry stiff claw. He's aware he's struggling to breathe now.

"Two minor leaks, already on it!" they hear Penguin cut in, his voice echoing from the tube.

"What's our limit?"

There are banging sounds before Penguin responds: "Keep us above two fathoms for now. She'll hold while we make repairs!"

"Two fathoms?" Nyiji repeats, trying to calculate the exact distance into feet. "How deep is that?"

"Twelve feet, four yards, one hundred and forty-four inches," Law rambles, eyes squeezed shut as he naturally translates the distance into various units of measurements. "Three point six thousand, five hundred and seventy-six metres."

Her silver eyes widen as she stares at the side of his head, amazed by his mental acuity. "Your face will get stuck like that if you keep it up," he quips.

"I'm surprised you even noticed," she rebukes. "You can't even keep your eyes open right now."

Rolling his head from shoulder to shoulder, Law offers her a strained grin. "I don't need to see to know what look you are giving me."

Seeing a flash of gold, Nyiji turned her face away and let her bottom lip jut out as she quietly asked herself: "Am I that predictable?"

Though he wasn't supposed to hear her, he mulls over the question before answering honestly: "Yeah."

Feeling her stare burn a hole into the side of his head, his lips curl into a grin. He's half tempted to tease her when Bepo suddenly shouts a warning: "We're being pursued! All hands brace!"

As the submarine is struck by something heavy a siren goes off, warning everyone that hadn't heard Bepo that their escape wasn't going to be carefree and easy.

"Marines are coming after us," Law growls and moves to push himself off of the couch when a hand grabs onto the back of his shirt and yanks him back down. Both are surprised how easily he falls.

"Ah! Are you okay?" she exclaims and raises her hands in surrender, afraid he might turn on her. Before he can react, she tries to explain herself: "B-but you're in no shape to move right now. Your condition is worse than you let on. What can you even do? We're underwater, you're useless—I… _I'm useless._ We should just stay here."

His eyes are dark as he leans into her with a sour expression to enunciate each word: "You should mind your tongue around me, Puppy-ya."

The submarine groans suddenly and Penguin cries out, his voice echoing throughout the vessel: "They've opened up a nasty hole, Bepo! We've got a flood down here!"

"We're going to have to surface!" the minkman answers, his voice laced with worry. "Captain? We're not far enough out of range, what are your orders?"

"Tell him ' _we fight'_ and stay inside," Law orders, his face is severe and much too close to hers. "After all, you're _useless_ in this situation, aren't you?"

They both stand at the same time. A head taller than her, Law looms over her even as she bravely meets his stare, refusing to be intimidated. " _Your_ crewmember asked me to keep you here, _safe_. If I let you go out and you die—"

"I'm not going to fucking die and it's not your fucking call," he seethes.

She takes an involuntary step back which gives him enough time to cross the room, grabbing his nodachi along the way. His hands are still shaking, making the sword rattle in the sheathe but his pace is unforgiving. Swallowing her nerves, Nyiji rushes to the speaker's tube to relay his orders before bolting out the door, hot on his heels. The man was suicidal.

When he reaches the front hatch, Law takes a moment to rest his body against the wall, practically sagging to the floor. Blue light reflects over his body, shining from the porthole where the water level is not yet visible. Hearing footsteps he tears his eyes from the water and frowns.

"I told you to stay back there."

"You told me to stay _inside_ ," she recites, "You didn't specify _where_ inside I had to be. And in case you've forgotten," she takes a breath before leveling him with a fierce expression. "You're not my Captain."

He chuckles, unable to hold it in. She certainly had guts; he would give her that. His head begins to turn slightly when Nyiji promptly drops to her knees and reaches for his ankle. "What are you doing?" he asks, brows furrowed before he spots his shoes resting in her lap.

"Helping," she answers as she slips them onto his feet and laces them with ease. She remains sitting atop a box that had been left in the hall after, refusing to meet his gaze.

Hearing the sound of cannon fire exploding outside, Law turns to watch the window, pleased to see the water level halfway down the glass. Heavy footfalls sound behind them and both turn to find members of his crew, heavily armed and looking menacing.

"Are the holes secured?" Law asks.

"We have enough hands below deck," Uni answers as he steps forward, separating from the small crowd. For a moment, Nyiji thinks his completely white eyes glance at her before dismissing the idea. ' _Who can even tell.'_

Feeling a hand softly tap her shoulder, Nyiji looked up to find a pair of hazel eyes frighteningly close to her face. Leaning cautiously back she blinked at the familiar face hidden beneath an oversized purple hat, recognizing him as one of the poker players she had met earlier. "S-sorry, I need that box," he lisped and pointed beneath her. "Just, ah, careful… _moving_."

Standing, she whispered an apology and watched as he timidly slid the box out of the way. On the side of the box, printed in thick red font the word ' _DANGER'_ temporarily distracted her from recalling the pirate's name.

"Clione, what you got there?" Law rasped as he watched the interaction.

Clione's hands quickly covered the print as he grinned at his Captain. "Just supplies!"

Law rolled his eyes and decided to let the matter go for now. He could deal with Clione later. Resting his weight against his nodachi, he tried to will his muscles to relax when the sheath suddenly moved beneath him and pitched his body forward. Before he could get close to the ground a pair of hands caught him, helping him back to his feet. Uni is quick to release his shoulder and dismiss the slip up but the other pair of hands remain pressed against his stomach, supporting his weight. Gold irises flick over the dainty limbs and up towards Nyiji's face, shrouded beneath her black hair and hidden from his view. She doesn't dare to look up at him.

' _This doesn't mean anything,'_ she thinks, hoping that he'll pick up on her thoughts somehow. ' _I'm only looking out for myself.'_

Clearing his throat, Law instructs his crew as they near the surface to distract himself from their grinning faces: "They'll be ready for us. Remember to keep spread out, and don't get shot. I'll take care of their ships."

"How are you going to do that?" Nyiji asks, eyebrows knitting together. The men around her laugh but no one answers the question.

A tattooed hand wraps around her wrist then and removes her hands from his person. She still can't meet his eyes. "Uni, keep her close. I don't want our only lead drowning."

The fishman nods and sweeps out with an elongated staff that separates her from his Captain and blocks her passage out the door right as it swings open. Law rushes out first and Nyiji snaps at Uni: "What are you doing?"

Wrapping her hands around the blunt weapon she watches as Uni allows the rest of his crew to pass them both while he holds her against the wall.

"You don't even have a weapon and yet you're out here," he makes a strange clicking sound and the fabric of his bandana twitches around his cheeks. "You're an idiot."

Digging into the front of his boiler suit, he produces a small dagger and holds it out for her. Stunned that the man was offering her a weapon, she hesitates long enough that he growls in frustration and waves the blade dangerously close to her face. "Hurry up and don't make me regret this. We're staying by the door and we let no one inside, understand? You know how to use this right? This end is the pointy—"

"Pointy end," she cuts him off, snatching the dagger from his hand. "Yes, I am aware of how a knife works."

"That's not a knife," he snaps before focusing on the deck, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Leaning over the staff keeping her pinned, Nyiji sees the group of pirates already engaging their enemy as marines sneak across lines of rope connecting the submarine to multiple ships. Placed in an obvious pincer attack, she realizes that the ships had been waiting in the perfect position long before the sub had ever surfaced. Counting hundreds of white uniformed men and women versus the six pirates on deck, she takes Uni's offered weapon and hopes it will be enough.

Catching sight of a marine barreling towards them, Uni easily sweeps Nyiji behind him with his staff before stepping out of the doorway. His weapon moves like an extension of his arm, fluid and impressive. When he strikes his opponent there is a loud resounding crack before he draws back and uses the strength of his forearms to sweep her legs out from underneath her, bringing her to the ground. Before he can bring his weapon down on her head however, a body jumps over the railing above in an attempt to take him by surprise. A slight twitch in his bandana is all the signal he needs as he shifts his weight to the side, too slow to entirely dodge the attack but fast enough to have saved his own life. The sword cuts through the side of his bandana and the fabric falls to the ground, revealing the moving spines on his cheeks and chin that react to the close call.

"Coming in hot!" a voice shouts to his left in warning.

Side-stepping with perfect timing, Uni dodges as his crewmember jumps into the fray with a sword in hand to take on the second opponent. Easily avoiding the marine's blade by ducking, Clione revealed himself with a wicked smile as he popped up by the man's chest. There was no hope for the marine whose arm and weapon were still extended when Clione drew his own sword up the length of his torso. Blood soaked the front of his white uniform, ignored as Clione briefly turned to make sure Uni and Nyiji were safe.

Meeting his hazel gaze, Nyiji could only stare. _'He's like a completely different person in the midst of battle.'_

She wanted to continue watching him as he turned and dashed to assist the rest of his crewmembers but the opportunity was lost when she realized the female marine had gotten back to her feet and was charging straight for her. Clutching the dagger in her hand, Nyiji stood her ground in the doorway. As a pirate, she had a reputation to keep even if her knees were shaking and her knowledge with a knife was extremely limited. It didn't matter if she was a terrible fighter, she would never run from a marine.

The woman screamed as she reached the doorway, about to burst inside and tackle Nyiji into the corridor when Uni's staff whipped out, catching her around the waist. The hard-knotted wood held up against the force of his strike and sent her flying across the deck and out of sight.

"Wow," Nyiji's mouth hung open as she stared at the fishman's revealed strength. He truly was a powerhouse.

"Stay here!" he barked before he turned to deal with another wave of enemies.

Standing in the middle of the chaotic battle and surrounded by his crewmembers that were careful to keep their fights from involving him, Law stood eyeing up each of the marine's vessels. The ropes connected to the submarine were still packed full of soldier trying to cross over. Spotting a weak link among the farthest line of people, he shook off the muscle spasms in his hand and renewed his grip on his sword, drawing the blade from its sheathe before he took off. Sprinting between bodies, he slammed his foot down on the deck railing before he vaulted into the air. Pushing against his body's resistance, Law screamed as he practically tackled his target, feet landing on the man's shoulders and nodachi coming down in a violent stroke. The wobbling marine took the blade on his vulnerable back, spraying blood as Law pushed off of his body. Before the grunts body could drop into the water, Law had already grabbed a handful of the next man's uniform. Using gravity to propel them into a half roll along the rope, they take out two others before they all fall. Reacting quickly, Law catches himself with his free hand and nearly slips. His fingers barely wrap around the thin material, refusing his mental commands to make a proper fist.

"Fuck!" he curses before slipping his nodachi over the top of the rope, grabbing the hilt and blade with both hands to keep himself from a watery grave. The metal bites into his flesh and he feels it sing as his blood drips.

"Take him down!" someone shouts above his head.

Glancing up, Law makes eye contact with a wisp of a man, crouched delicately on the line. Looking perfectly at home the bug-eyed soldier made an outrageous smile before he began prowling forward. He very much looked the part of an insect sneaking in for the kill. Attempting to pull himself up, Law's arms shook dangerously and he nearly lost his grip on his nodachi. Panting, he squeezed his eyes closed as his body continued to defy him. His lower half felt like dead weight, leaving his legs stiff and muscles taut. Reminding himself that his men were counting on him, Law steeled himself for another attempt before he started swinging his legs. The movement made his blade bite deeper into his palm, but he would deal with the injuries later. It took three tries before he was able to wrap his ankles around the rope and give his entire body the support it desperately needed. In that time however the soldier had managed to close in, shoulder his rifle and take aim at his chest. Before the man could pull the trigger and end his life, Law heaved his body up and then down, shaking the entire length of the rope. Unprepared the marine lost his balance but did not fall.

' _It'll have to be enough,'_ Law thought to himself before slotting his foot around the man's ankle and jerking it right out from underneath him. The bug-eyed marine cried out as he fell, fingertips grazing the support line and missing before he was swallowed up in the tumultuous waves below. Law breathed a sigh of relief and made his way safely across to climb aboard the first enemy ship.

As his feet touched the deck, he flicked his fingers out and attempted to summon a room. A small swirling vortex appeared, briefly enlarging before vanishing altogether. "Still not ready," he mumbled as he cast his eyes around his new surroundings.

Turning and swiftly cutting the line, Law strode across the deck as a substantial group of Navy soldiers began to line up before him. His left hand, bloodied and cut, felt numb. Even when he flexed the digits, he couldn't feel the common pinpricks associated with blood flow returning to where it belonged.

"Well?" he coaxed the group when not a single one moved to attack him. Rolling a shoulder, he prepared himself to make the first move. "Guess we'll just get started then."

With a wicked and dark grin that intimidated lesser men, Law charged with his sword drawn. He couldn't utilize his devil fruit yet but he had an alternative plan in mind for dealing with the large force. Thankful for the extended reach of his nodachi, he was able to avoid close quarters as he cut into his enemies without remorse. Diving and twisting through the crowd, he incapacitated each soldier he came into contact with while keeping an eye out for any wielding a gun. Catching a woman around the head with the hilt of his sword, he dropped her unconscious and swept his blade forward to stop a man reaching to retrieve the pistol she had dropped.

When the flow of battle began to slow and he was surrounded by injured men and women, Law dropped to kneel on the deck. His entire body burned and his vision was beginning to swim. Softly he curled his fingers and delivered a soft punch to his own thigh, trying to urge his body to obey. Heavy thumps of a thick boot caught his attention then and he looked up to see a large man with thick bulging muscles that were barely contained within his uniform. When he scratched his shaved head, thick veins became visible along the length of his arms. Knowing if the man managed to get his paws on him that he might risk a broken limb, Law pushed himself to his feet.

Stomping forward the ape swung once he was within reach and caught Law's blade in the palm of his hand only to bat it away as if it were a toy. Following the path of his sword, Law rolled away from the giant's next swing. A metal handle brushed against his knee and without thinking, he scooped the pistol up just as the marine towered over him, tucked the barrel beneath the man's jaw and pulled the trigger. In the same motion he swept the gun out and shot the next man running towards him in the chest. Spotting more marines coming up the stairs, he moved quickly towards the first cannon on deck while trying to keep distance from his enemies. He had to prioritize the removal of the ships surrounding the Polar Tang. A sudden blur of black and blue cut through the crowd, halting their progress as Law slid along the floor to land behind the cannon. The weapon was massive and heavy which meant his arms were useless when it came to maneuvering it but with a few aggressive kicks he was able to rotate it and face the stalled marines on the deck.

"Oi!" he called as he spotted his crewmate moving throughout the crowd. In response to his cry a small object was thrown through the air towards him. "Fucking magic worker," Law laughed as he caught the small matchbox between his slippery red fingers.

Digits shaking, he selected a match and tried to light it. His own blood kept interfering as it soaked the wick and spoiled the friction. Cursing he wiped his bloodied palm across his chest, briefly reminiscing about another lost shirt before he tucked his nodachi beneath his chin and bent over the matchbox. Trying to use only the tips of his fingers, he scratched the match over and over until finally he had a light.

He didn't even need to shout before the raven was at his side, crouched and sharing a grin with his Captain. "Came in handy, huh?" he teased as he tapped the matchbox.

"Cover your ears," Law responded as he touched the fire to the cannon's wick. Both men covered their ears and looked up at the marines still making their way towards them. They hadn't figured it out yet.

With a loud bang the cannon exploded, propelling a round shot into the men and savagely decimating their numbers. Though the rounds weren't explosive they caused enough devastation to the deck that made him sure they would be sufficient for taking out the other ships once the current remaining soldiers were taken care of. Feeling a soft tap on his shoulder, Law drew his eyes towards his crewmate who gestured that he was heading below deck before vanishing from sight. That was usually the man's modus operandi. Work alone, stealthily take out what he needed to before hiking it back to safety.

"Alright, time to take out the rest," Law grunted as he pushed himself to his knees, watching for any marine recovering from the cannon blast. His body was sluggish, growing tired with every breath but he had to keep pushing otherwise he would never gain complete access to the rest of the cannons.

Fisting his hand at his side he pushed his concentration down, willing all of his reserves to respond and summon a room. Fingers extending his devil fruit finally answered, producing a razor-thin room that spun in his palm as he held it. It flickered a few times before becoming solid and expanding to cover the deck. Hearing someone cry as they moved to charge him, Law vanished from his position to appear behind the cluster of naval officers. Disoriented they never saw his attacks coming and by the time his room flickered out, there was nothing left but rolling and screaming body parts. Stabbing his nodachi into the wooden deck, he collapsed to one knee, still gripping the hilt with a bloodied palm. A few feet away he could see the pistol he had dropped. He couldn't even remember losing it. Below deck he could hear the sounds of gunfire as his crewmate worked. At some point his ears had started ringing, becoming so loud he couldn't focus on any other sound.

"He's not going to make it back," Nyiji whispered as she leaned against the submarine's railing, looking out at the marine's vessel. Snapping her spyglass closed, she turned to face Uni with a frown. He had been guarding her and the door throughout the entire battle, easily covering the distance with his weapon but he was beginning to look tired.

"Isana has him covered," Uni fired back without looking at her, his body poised defensively as he watched another marine cross over on a rope.

She wished she had the confidence these men had. Even though they were heavily outnumbered and even when their Captain appeared to be on his last leg, not a single one of them looked the least bit concerned. They fought tooth and nail to defend their crew, their submarine and their own lives. It was admirable.

" _Admirable?"_ a soft snort followed, so quiet she questioned whether she heard it at all. Turning her head and expecting to find Owens, her body went rigid at the sight of Killian lazily draped over the railing, his arms folded and chin in his palm. He looked much younger than she knew he was, freshly shaven and his black hair slicked back, emphasizing a very passive expression. A blue eye glanced at her before he spoke again: _"Admirable kidnappers. Who knew?"_

Her gut twisted as Uni slammed into the vision, a marine barring down on him with a heavy sword that was beginning to crack his staff down the middle. They might have been her kidnappers but they were also fearsome allies and right now they needed her help.

* * *

 _Author's note; Has it really been months? Yes, yes it has. But after numerous rewrites, changes and issues with editing (possibly a small case of writer's block) I finally tackled this monster… only for it to turn into two chapters. I do apologize for the cliffhanger, I was trying to avoid it but it was the only way to get this posted. Still working on the other half and hopefully it doesn't take me just as long!_

 _I was so worried (still am, honestly) about how the action scenes come across. I worked really hard on them though and hope it's enjoyable!_

 _I swear though, without all of your reviews, messages, the favorite and follow emails—Christopher and my great friend MissNanamiChan—I'm not sure I would have been able to come out of this so proud of this chapter. Currently celebrating just being done editing it, haha._

 _Alright, I'm going to wish everyone Happy holidays, however you celebrate and thank you again for continuing to read! I'll go back to working on the next half now to get it out as fast as I can. :D_


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Hopping and landing on the railing Law whirled around to deliver a swift kick into the pursuing marine's face, knocking loose a few teeth. The marine's head snapped back, losing his hat but appeared otherwise visibly unaffected. Spitting the white pearls from his mouth, he turned and struck with a meaty fist that sent Law rolling across the slippery deck. It took him three rolls to recover his footing and stop his slide. Three rolls too long as the blonde soldier stalked after him to continue their battle for supremacy. Deflecting a blow with his nodachi, Law ducked only to be caught off guard as a knee slammed into his stomach. For such a burly and proud man, the officer wasn't above using dirty tactics to take care of a foe. Thrusting his knee high into the air and sending the pirate sky high, the blonde reared his fist back in preparation for his fall and let out a war cry.

As he shouted, he failed to notice a flicker overhead before another blue sphere exploded to cover his surroundings. Unlike the other rooms Law had summoned before, the sphere was smaller and yet wide enough to prevent the marine's escape as he slammed down with his nodachi. Silence that lasted no longer than it took to blink engulphed the deck as the two met each others gaze. The marine trembled as he took in the pirate's bloodied hands still gripping the hilt of his weapon as he slowly rose to his feet.

"What?" he croaked before his uniformed body split into two even halves.

Law's expression was uncaring as he looked over the marine's form, taking in his twitching hands as he tried and failed to move his body and piece himself back together. His equilibrium seemed impeded however as he only succeeded in dragging his two halves in opposite directions. There's snot and tears trailing down his face and a slight morbid fascination claws its way up Law's chest. He knows that the man isn't feeling any real pain but he also knows better than anyone else that fear can do strange things to the mind.

Bending and pulling a blade from the soldier's belt, he swiftly stabs the weapon into a wrist, effectively pinning one half to the deck. "Stay put," he chides before turning and making his way to the cannons.

He counts five more round shots already loaded in the first cannon and three more resting on the ground near the ship's main cabin. _'It will have to be enough,'_ he thinks as he looks over at the Polar Tang and confirms that his men are holding steady. There are still waves of marines pouring over rope lines that have yet to be cut but they appear to be struggling against his crew just to gain any ground. His thoughts fall on their makeshift bridges, trying to deduce a way to deal with them from afar. Planning to utilize the cannons to his advantage and sink the enemy ships, he considers the trajectory each round shot will have to take just to destroy the opposing ship's hulls, decks and connecting rope lines.

To his right the main cabin's door slams open and his raven-haired crewmember reappears, briefly saluting him before rushing to his side. It's obvious by the blood on his boiler suit that he has finished with his stealth operation below deck. Iconic goggles with red-tinted lenses cover his eyes, shielding him from the sparse sunlight overhead as he peers around at the carnage on deck. "Man, no remorse," he teases. "You'd think you were angry or something, Cap."

"Or something," Law agrees, briefly smirking. "Has everything below deck been taken care of?"

The raven nods. "Not a soul left behind," leaning over the railing and checking on the situation ahead, he continues. "What are we going to do about the other ships?"

Law taps the cannon at his side and a hollow sound rings out. "Shoot 'em down. We need to take care of the ropes still connected to the Polar Tang though, can you handle it?"

" _Can I handle it,"_ the raven sarcastically repeats before he is standing on the railing and hollering for Uni's attention.

Upon hearing his name, the fishman turned and revealed the spines on his face twitching in time with each heavy breath that escaped a circular mouth. Without verbally responding Uni wrapped an arm around the railing to anchor himself and held out his hand to catch the raven as he jumped to cross over. His body hit the side of the submarine before being pulled up to safety. Uni, spotting someone charging them threw his crewmate to the floor and lashed out with incredible speed to hit them with the end of his staff. With a crack their head whipped back and their feet swung up as they fell onto their back unconscious. ' _Sore muscles be damned,'_ Uni thinks as he rolls a shoulder.

"Nice one," the raven compliments as he thumbs the goggles off his eyes and onto his head. "Oh! Heads up!"

The spines on Uni's right cheek vibrate before his crewmate can finish warning him and he turns just as a figure appears, leaping at him with their weapon drawn. Before they reach him, there is a heavy _thud_ that sends the officer off course and they barrel into the deck with a dagger sticking out of their shoulder. Recognizing the hilt of the blade, Uni's eyes widen a fraction but he finds himself unable to address the person responsible when his raven crewmate is suddenly swallowed up by a crowd and thrown to the ground. Shouting his name, Uni moves to his rescue only for a uniformed woman to step into his path. Similar to her Captain she wears medals and an identifying sash.

"Pirate," she greets him with a small flourish of her rapier. Behind her body Uni can see his friend struggling with nearly five others but his attention is focused on his own opponent who is quick to traverse the distance between them with a little hop, so light on her feet that she appears to float.

Blocking her hits and forced to backpedal, Uni sees an opportunity and thrusts at her center only to miss. His spines move then as if they were tasting the air and he senses Nyiji directly behind him. "What are you doing?" he shouts, calling to her over his shoulder as he blocks the rapier. From his peripheral he sees the man Nyiji had hit with the dagger beginning to stand. "You _missed!_ "

"I know that!" Nyiji yells back, watching the fishman as his back inches ever closer.

From her position she cannot see the marine he is dueling but she takes notice of how his body declines after every hit taken, how his shoulders sag and his movement speed decreases until a heel slams into his stomach and he is thrown off balance and sent tumbling back into her. She clutches the fabric of his boiler suit and helps him onto his feet, her heart pounding beneath her breast as they slam into the railing at her back. A rapier lashes out over his shoulder, just barely blocked in time with a parry from his staff and misses her face by inches.

"On purpose!?" Uni accuses her, still arguing over her failed throw.

Nyiji's cheeks burn with humiliation and she shrieks: "No! Not on purpose!"

"Enough talk!" the curly haired woman yells, interrupting their argument with an acidic stare. She evaluates them both and snarls. She had never met anyone so disrespectful before.

Catching Uni's staff with the tip of her blade and forcing his arms to rise up over his head, she slithers forward and catches him by the throat before he can respond. Squeezing his neck, she forces him to bend with all of the strength she can muster and pins Nyiji beneath him on the railing. Forced to tighten her grip on his boiler suit and nearly strangling Uni in the process, Nyiji casts a quick look over her shoulder to spy the watery depths below. The waves are churning between all of the ships, growing rockier with every passing minute. Above she can see the evening sky darkening as a storm began to form.

"Disgusting," the marine spits as she stares into Uni's eyes, her fingers digging into his tough skin. While she does not draw blood, she can see the shape of her nails already leaving impressions. "Fishmen should know their place!"

Struck with a sense of familiarity upon hearing the woman's voice, Nyiji frowned before pushing herself into action. Knowing that Uni needed assistance, she released him to paw at his shoulders, struggling to reach around his wide frame to grab at the stranger's wrist. When she felt the woman's skin and a heartbeat beneath her thumb, pulsing with life, she acted. Digging her nails in Nyiji violently began to tear and claw until her hands were slick and the marine was forced to pull away with a pained curse. Grateful for the air drawn back into his lungs with a choking inhale, Uni stepped forward and slammed his elbow into the woman's nose, hearing a crunch in response.

Spotting the man she had assaulted moments ago swiftly draw the dagger from his shoulder as he stalked forward to join his superior, Nyiji shouts in warning: "Watch out!"

"I see 'em!" Uni growls as he spins his staff in a quick circle to block both opponents as they attempted to hammer him from two sides. Recognizing that protecting Nyiji was beginning to put himself at a disadvantage, he barks an order: "Get back inside the sub!"

Nyiji looks to the Polar Tang's front hatch before glancing back at the fishman. A heavy pit settles in her stomach. Before she can act upon his wishes, Uni suddenly slams into her again as he jerks to avoid the rapier that nearly slips through his guard. The railing digs into her spine as his weight presses into her, promising that she will walk away with bruises later.

"Ya alright?" she hears Uni grumble, his voice deep and strained as he resists the weapons bearing down on him.

A strange sense of relief hits her as she registers his words as an act of concern. At any point, Uni could have left her to fend for herself and prioritized his own health. All he had to do was disobey his Captain's orders, lie about what had happened and she would be nothing more than an afterthought. He had no true reason to care about her well-being and yet he had asked. He had asked her in the middle of battle. Her chest tightens and her feelings shift as her gaze drops to the tips of her fingers, desperately searching for her Devil Fruit to assist them. If she could only summon a shield or a barrier. ' _I won't be a burden,'_ she thinks as she squeezes her hands into fists.

Hot breath fans across her face and Nyiji startles as the injured marine makes a sudden grab for her. Shrinking into Uni's form for safety, she cringes as panic bubbles up to overtake her courage. There is nowhere to go to avoid the hand coming for her and when it finally closes in on her, she nearly screams.

"Get your own—fucking—prisoner!" Uni heaves as he pushes the woman off of his front and slams his forehead into the other man's skull. With the temporary reprieve, he yells at Nyiji once more: "You're fucking useless, brat. Go back inside!"

A rapier cuts over his shoulder, targeting Nyiji's head and Uni moves to block it. There is sweat beading along his hairline, collecting in the bouncy spherical hair on the top of his head and spraying everywhere with each of his extreme movements. He is exhausted and his enemies know it; they have found his weakness. When he blocks the curly-haired woman's next attack, he is surprised when a familiar dagger is stabbed into his shoulder, leaving steel to scrape against bone. Struggling to push the two marines back until he was no longer arched backwards, he tries to ignore the searing pain that runs through his arm and collarbone. He can still feel Nyiji's legs trapped behind him and her hands gripping his clothes in terror. In their current position he cannot afford to lash out at either marine nor can he continue to defend himself from them simultaneously. His enemies are back before he can act, both covered in blood and resembling something akin to an attack dog. When the man reaches for Nyiji again there is nothing that Uni can do as a rapier and a bloodied hand demands his full attention.

Grabbing a handful of Nyiji's black hair, he roughly jerks her upper half over Uni's shoulder, further hindering the fishman's capabilities. Letting out a cry of terror, Nyiji's hands lash out to grab anything as support. She fumbles blindly and grips the marine's face, his chest, his wrist and his waist before she finally notices what her hand has landed on. Fingers brushing over a wooden inlay plated inside of a metal frame, a spark of hope surges up inside of her chest. Without a second to debate her next move her hand wraps around the handle and rips the gun free of its holster. No one even realizes what she has done before a shot rings out. The marine, a once sweet-faced brunette falls onto the deck stiff as a board with a pretty hole in the center of his chest. Recovering her balance, Nyiji grips Uni's shoulder and moves on autopilot, her arm extended as she shoves the barrel into the face of her next victim. Slamming back the hammer and ready to squeeze the trigger, she takes in the curly hair, painted lips and fear as the Lieutenant decorated in her sash recoils. Determined not to let her escape, Nyiji fires the gun and sends her to rejoin her comrade.

A quiet shock descends as Uni moves and relieves the weight pinning her against the banister. Silver irises flicker towards his scowling face and take in the hand he is pressing against his ear. The unexpected gunfire must have perforated his eardrum. He doesn't look back at her and she notices that he is transfixed on his crewmates, visually confirming each man's safety. Flooded with relief, the spines on his face twitch before he grabs her extended wrist without looking and forces her to lower the gun down to her side.

"I-I'm sorry, your e-ear," she stutters and winces.

He doesn't respond and she worries that she might have deafened him until the spines on his face twitch abruptly, moving like fingers as they wag and pinch the air. When he finally looks at her, the spines have stilled and there is a strange expression behind his otherwise blank eyes. She wonders if they have somehow notified him that she had spoken or even translated the sound waves into speech in place of his disrupted hearing. Uni spares her a brief nod before thrusting a finger towards the front hatch in a silent command for her to return to its inner halls.

"I—no, I can't," she says while shaking her head, trying to exaggerate her words with hand gestures.

The spines begin moving again as she talks and she can't help but stare. ' _How do they work?'_ the question probably wouldn't go over well with the pirate so she tables the thought.

A great boom sounds behind them, forcing everyone to instinctively drop into a protective crouch. Almost comically, Nyiji jerks the fishman onto the floor with her and presses her hand into the giant afro to keep him from getting back up. He struggles underneath her, smacking her thighs and arms but she refuses to budge. "Cannons," she answers though she suspects he can't hear her.

"Fucking let go!" Uni barks though his voice is muffled from the position, face pressed into the splintered deck. "What are you doing?!"

A few of his spines stab at her skin, easily drawing blood. They are sharper than she expected. Releasing his head in favor of his shoulders, she tries to explain through hand gestures the whistling overhead. Round shots arch through the air, one after the other and fly safely past the submarine. Her attempts to mime the event to him are interrupted.

Slapping her hands away from himself, Uni glares and pushes himself into a proper crouch. "I know what's going on, dumbass! It's the Captain!"

Eyes resembling a spooked owl Nyiji twisted around to look for herself, already seeking out the last location that she had seen Trafalgar. He is not readily visible across the distance so she unclasps the spyglass from her waist and extends the sight. Her lens scopes across the numerous bodies scattered across the deck first, believing him to be among their numbers. After all, he had been struggling to stand before boarding the warship. A second boom sounds and draws the spyglass towards a dark figure, practically collapsed on the floor with his back slumped against the railing. She can make out his jerky movements as he occasionally leans into the cannon, attempting to force it into a new position before lighting the wick again.

"He's not standing," she whispers. Adjusting the lens for a better zoom, she takes in Trafalgar's legs sprawled out before him. At his side numerous projectile rounds were stacked to make his job easier. With her spyglass trained on the surgeon, she watches as he loads the cannon before firing another shot and follows its path as the heavy ball careens into the ship at the Polar Tang's stern. "He's going to sink them… T-that's… brilliant."

She speaks without thinking and doesn't notice when Uni's gaze briefly flits over her form, his spines dancing and failing to gather the sound coming out of her mouth. His brows furrow. His right ear is completely impaired and his left is fairing poorly, making every noise sound distant and waterlogged. If it wasn't for the spines, he would have never known she had spoken. Sensing someone approaching their position, he rotates on his heel and comes face to face with a flushed Clione. The swordsman looks to be in better shape than the rest of their crew. With his pupils blown wide and an idiotic grin, he nods in greeting.

"Can you cover me?" Clione asks as he slides into the space between them and kneels.

Pulling away from her spyglass, Nyiji answers for the deafened fishman: "He can't hear you, b-but I can try. What do you need?"

Noticing the gun in her other hand, Clione nods. Clapping his hands together, he leans close to his friend's face and speaks in a slow lisp: "Watch door. I'm carrying—carry, nod with me, idiot—carrying something out."

Uni's glower darkens before he smacks his friend across the head. "I'm not stupid! I get the point."

"Then you should have nodded," Clione teases before he is scrambling to get away from his friend's vicious swats. He takes a few hits on the rear before he is safe inside the Polar Tang.

A cannon sounds again and a shot sails by in the background with a loud whistle. The targeted warship takes the volley in the center of their hull, sending debris high into the sky. Beside her, Uni points to the aft-most part of the submarine and asks her to confirm that the rope connecting them to the sinking ship is separated. Using her spyglass, even though she didn't need to, Nyiji confirms that a few Heart pirates have succeeded in severing the link. A blur of black and blue cuts across the lens then, making its way to the second line.

"It's alright," she repeats, nodding firmly for the fishman to see.

Reaching out, Uni grasps her wrist and extends her weapon before he slots his finger against hers and pulls the trigger. "Then watch the fucking door," his words are rough but she senses his blank stare is focused on her face, trusting her to understand the sentiments behind it.

A body falls behind them, adding to the significantly decreased volume of marines. Parking herself by the door, Nyiji looks over those remaining, struggling with greater numbers against singular opponents. It is obvious that the Navy soldiers had never expected to have such a challenge. Uni keeps close to her side and she hears a few muttered complaints as he is forced to watch his crewmates battle without him. After a few minutes Clione returns, carefully dragging a familiar and heavy box across the deck.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Uni complains with realization.

In bold letters the word danger stares at them as Clione continues to drag the crate without pause. He looks unabashedly proud with himself. When he gets onto the deck he finally stops and points at Nyiji to ask: "I need to steal you for a moment, how many shots do you have?"

Checking her available rounds, Nyiji answers: "Two."

"Better make them count then," jerking his head he commands her to his side and directs her to cover him. "See the goggled idiot over there? That's where I'm going!"

Spying the raven as a black and blue blur amongst a crowd of white, Nyiji nods and steels herself. She hears Uni calling at her back, yelling at them for disobeying orders but he doesn't make any move to chase after them. Keeping close to Clione's side the two go unnoticed until they reach their destination where he stops to withdraw a sword from his hip. Tossing the blade with a quick flip, he offers it to her by the hilt.

"In case you run out of shots. Yo, 'Sana! I'm goin' across!"

Nyiji hears the raven let out a cackling laugh before she turns on Clione to ask: "W-wait, you're going across without a weapon!?"

Digging his fingers into the top of the box, he peels the wood away to reveal numerous sticks of dynamite. Her heart nearly stops as she realizes she had been sitting on that crate only an hour ago. To make matters worse, Clione begins to stuff the sticks into his boiler suit. "I never said I was going weaponless!" He grins at her.

' _They're all suicidal,'_ she realizes with wide eyes. ' _He's turning himself into a human bomb!'_

Before she can attempt to stop the fool, Clione jumps to his feet and hops a few times before taking off at a run across the rope. He is quick and agile but she is too surprised by the fact he hadn't prematurely blown himself up to watch the grace he exudes as he charges headlong into battle. Men line up to stop his advance and she realizes her task as one bends to cut the rope. He is shot dead before his blade can touch the woven strands and the result sends the group scrambling for cover, subsequently clearing Clione's path. With a single bullet left in the chamber, she isn't sure how much more she can do for him as he vanishes from sight.

Surrounded by the remnants of battle Nyiji tries to keep herself calm by softly counting and trying to ignore the bodies being thrown overboard near her. "Heads up!" the raven shouts in warning before another marine is sent flying. His rough hands nearly grab her hair in passing before he is swallowed up by the stormy waves between the two vessels.

There are only three marines left aboard the Polar Tang and Nyiji cannot believe that the pirates have managed to come out victorious against three warships and dozens of enemies. A cannon blast interrupts, spoiling the moment as the shock waves reverberate throughout the submarine and send her to her knees. The gun in her hand slides across the deck, far out of reach and the sword slips, cutting into her thigh accidentally. The wound is shallow and she barely pays it any attention as she crawls forward in search of the lost pistol. To the port side, where Clione had vanished, the warship unleashes another barrage of assaults on the submarine that send her and many others rolling across the deck. The Polar Tang reacts and veers to the side in an attempt to put distance between the two vessels, pulling up thrashing waves and debris.

"The fucking rope!" she hears someone shout from nearby.

Pushing up on her hands, Nyiji watches a boiler suit run across the deck to cut the line growing taut. "Wait! Clione's over there!" she shouts.

Before she can move to stop him a heavy weight slams onto her back and a hand pushes her face against the deck. Her struggle is stopped short when Uni's voice gripes beside her ear: "Just watch."

With her fight quashed, Uni's weight is temporarily relieved as he moves to a safer position against the banister before he reaches for her again. Grabbing her clothes and forcefully pulling her against his side, he barks an order for her to hold onto the railing and braces himself beside her. More cannons strike the submarine's hull and water washes over the side of the deck, sweeping towards them as everything tilts. The ocean rocks against them, correcting their vessel before it can be flipped onto its side and the Polar Tang slams back into the waves with a thunderous crash. On the deck, before the water can reach her shoes, she watches it begin to drain away and leave slippery puddles in its wake. Across from their position and undisturbed by their rocky motions, a pirate cuts the rope and waits, clinging to the railing's safety as he watches for the return of his crewmate.

It doesn't take long before the sandy-haired pirate reappears, his uniform missing its bulk. With one hand keeping the hat on his head, Clione leapt across the distance right as his trap was set off. It starts as a series of small bursts that shatter portholes and send glass flying from within the warship's interior before wood and metal follow. Each piece is consumed by flames as it lashes out, splintering apart the hull with larger and grander explosions going off in tiers. There are screams of confusion and fear heard over the wailing winds that are silenced when the deck bursts apart and Nyiji finds herself gripping the arm around her waist for reassurance. A low rumbling begins to shake the submarine that stirs the waves up into a frothy path as the vessel pulls forward to escape. This move however puts the two remaining warships in direct confrontation as another cannon ball hurtles across the water.

"Son of a bitch," Law yells as he forces a round into the cannon while trying to maintain his footing. The ground shakes beneath him as the ship is struck by an explosive round that shreds the hull into shrapnel. He cannot see the damage when he looks over the side, so he knows the wound must be deep beneath the water.

Bracing himself upright on the banister, he looks over the battle field as the Polar Tang moves further away. He can see bodies in the water, increasing in number as many begin to flee their doomed vessels. A burning wreckage waits dead ahead, still bombarding him with cannon fire as the last remaining soldiers refuse to die without a fight. Part of the railing beside him bursts into splinters and he curls into himself to protect his body from serious damage. One of the cannons near him begins to roll away and Law curses when he realizes that the ship he is on has begun to sink. Another blast takes out the cabin nearby, urging him to move. Grabbing a bolted down cannon for support, he takes a step only for his legs to give out beneath him. Knees knocking together, he landed harshly on his face and remained there even as his surroundings continued to fall apart. Bodies and cannons that haven't been strapped down begin to slide. The tilt of the ship is becoming more prominent. Forcing his strained muscles to move, he starts out slow before picking up speed as he crawls towards the bow and hops to grab the railing for support.

Hanging by one hand, Law feels gravities pull and glances down. Dark and angry water pours over the deck, swallowing up everything in sight. Thick bubbles pop and reform faster than he can breathe and waves rock the ship off balance, making Law sway with the motions. From the corner of his eye he spots his nodachi beginning to slide and makes a move to grab it. His body rolls carelessly and his vision swims in circles while he makes desperate grabbing motions with his sore fingers. His fingertips brush over the blade numerous times before he secures It in his palm. In the next motion, he pushes himself off of the deck with one palm and stabs his sword deep into the vulnerable wood, stopping his momentum. Breathing heavily and adjusting his footing, he braces himself over his sword. He has no energy to even attempt summoning another room to teleport to freedom. The sky overhead claps loudly before a few wet droplets fall. A few splash against his forehead and Law lets his head fall back to stare up at the clouds. He didn't even have it in him to complain about his current situation. He can see the Polar Tang turning in the waves, holes littering its sides and bodies dressed in white boiler suits decorating the deck. His jolly roger smiles at him from a distance and his eyes slip closed. The roar of the water below is so loud he doesn't hear voices calling his name. There is only the wind and his pounding heartbeat to keep him company.

"Yo! Need a lift?" the voice repeats and his brow furrows. It sounds far too close to be real. Eyelids opening, he swears he catches sight of a grinning idiot before a blink makes the image disappear, replaced with his crewmates as they shout at him from the Polar Tang.

"Captain! Over here!"

They are all spread out along the side of the deck, each one hoping to get close enough to assist their Captain as the submarine maneuvered itself within range. Amongst them he spots Uni and the fishman's stern expression and revealed features shocks him back into reality. Hoisting himself upright, Law casually waves before he starts a slow progress towards the banister. Every two steps he would need to resituate his sword, utilizing it as a makeshift anchor against the forty-degree angle of the deck. His legs continue to wobble, nearly giving out multiple times as the slope continues to worsen before finally reaching his destination.

The gap between the two vessels was wide and intimidating, stretching farther apart with every passing second. "Jump over, Captain! I got you!" Uni called as he stretched a muscled arm forward. Law noticed a blood stain on his shoulder and frowned. He still had to get himself over the railing before he could attempt a leap of faith, but the injured fishman was his closest point of contact.

Emboldened by his men's cheers and urged by the looming threat of death, Law rigidly threw his legs over the banister one at a time. The ship groaned beneath him as a great bubble burst, speeding up the wreckage's descent into the ocean's murky depths. Rearing back an arm Law threw his nodachi across the gap and watched Uni catch the weapon. All that was left was himself.

Flexing his knees in mock preparation, he tried to ignore the way the movement made his stomach churn and his vision swim. He could make out Uni ahead, waving his hand as if it would provoke him to hurry but the scene was rapidly deteriorating. With a few blinks to clear his sight, Uni's body was practically swallowed up by the afro on his head that bounced and swayed in the turbulent wind. Law shook his head and tried again to focus his eyes. He had one shot, one attempt and delaying would only decrease his chance of success. Legs bent, he held himself steady before springing into a flying leap. Everything became a hazy mess of grey and black then, spinning and combining into a nauseating spin. With a thump his body hit the side of the submarine and dropped before he felt Uni's hand desperately grip his own. Delirious, Law was vaguely aware that he had made the jump as he felt nails dig into his skin. Squinting up at his blurry friend, they shared a moment of relief before the blood on Law's palm interfered. When he slipped both men's stomachs lurched.

"I've got ya!" Uni shouted over the torrent of wind that billowed at their backs. Using both hands to grab Law's bloodied hand and wrist, he roared with effort as his Captain hung like dead weight with a distant look in his golden irises.

Law's curse was lost as he felt himself slide another inch. The muscle spasms had returned, making it impossible to close his fingers and return his friend's grip. Even with Uni's incredible strength he could feel the fishman struggling. Even hanging dangerously over the edge, Uni was determined not to let him fall. Trying to focus his vision, Law watched his form blur and tried to force himself to smile, communicating without words.

"You're… not…" Uni's words were lost as he locked his jaw, grit his teeth and pulled. His forehead creased with the effort and the spines along his face twitched with wild abandon as his muscles strained.

Seeing the struggle, a second figure appeared and Law felt nimble fingers grip his other sleeve, tugging and urging him to hold on. Responding and reaching out, he noticed a faint shimmering light and latched onto it. With a secondary support his body steadily rose until he was dragged over the railing and pulled to safety. Collapsing on top of Uni, face in his chest, Law muttered his thanks. A body drops to their knees beside him and he manages to turn his head, catching sight of the familiar light that had helped rescue him. Even with his vision growing dark he can make out the sparkling gold that envelopes her palms, faintly pulsing with life before vanishing from sight. His body is cold and tired, resisting all efforts to move but when he meets her silver gaze, he forces himself to tip his chin in thanks. His crew continues to cheer and paw at his body, grateful for his safe return and he can tell by their unconcerned faces that none of them have noticed her displayed power.

"Damn I really thought you were going to drop him!" one of the men chastised Uni and slapped his back.

Timidly stepping forward to interrupt the moment, Clione softly spoke: "We should get back inside."

A few of the men grinned in response to Clione's subdued demeanor before agreeing.

"We're clear?" Law asked as he was helped to his feet and slung over someone's arm. His body sagged immediately.

"Yah, Cap. We're all good."

Watching the men drag their Captain and their wounded back inside, Nyiji took a moment to scan over the dead lying across the Polar Tang's deck. Her eyes catch onto curly hair, dyed from a growing puddle of red that stains the wood beneath her body. Knuckles turning white, Nyiji bites the inside of her cheek and represses her memories. The blood continues to grow as it meets with other pools and she imagines it rushing over the entire bow and flowing over the side like a waterfall. ' _Four,'_ she counts as she looks over each of her victims. One of them was missing, likely consumed by the fires on the sinking warship but she will remember them all the same. ' _Four more…'_

"Uhm… Thanks—F-for your help," abruptly looking up, Nyiji met Clione's tender gaze. His large and rather flat nose had a cut across the bridge and bruising was beginning to appear beneath his left eye. "D-do you need any h-help up?"

Shaking her head in reply, Nyiji's throat bobs as she swallows against her dry mouth. The temptation to get lost in her own mind is nearly suffocating. There are too many thoughts and unasked questions lingering on the tip of her tongue, made even more difficult by the bodies she doesn't want to look at. Pushing herself to her feet and following the Heart pirate back inside, she keeps her eyes forward and focuses on the random pains her body has accumulated. All that mattered was that they were all safe.

Sealing the entrance behind them, Clione hesitates and glances back and forth before calling out to the fishman whose already halfway down the corridor: "U-Uni, what should we do with… well…"

Glancing over his shoulder and with a hand pressed against his wound, Uni grimaced. The spines on his cheeks informed him of the sound but he still couldn't make out the words. Thankfully his Captain answered in his stead: "Puppy-ya, if you don't need any medical attention, go to your room and stay out of the way for now."

Clione smiled bashfully while avoiding her gaze before he physically turned and ran away. Left to her own devices, Nyiji hesitated and watched the group as they dispersed into various rooms. Most of them went straight to sick bay while others vanished to the lower floors. She noticed that unlike the rest of his crew, Law slipped away from sight to retreat inside his own quarters, slamming the door shut before anyone could follow. It was remarkable that he had managed such a feat when seconds ago he had been unable to stand on his own.

" _Thinking he's strong, huh?"_ a voice whispered near her ear and her eyes briefly flickered to the side to take in Owens reappearance. He looked far too casual as he bent at the waist, hands in his pockets and a grin highlighting the scar on his left cheek. _"Oh, were you expecting someone else?"_

She nearly cursed aloud. Fingertips nervously tapping out an unknown beat against her thigh, she made her way down to the lower levels of the submarine. Her wounds could be treated once her ghosts were gone. Taking the steps two at a time, she dodged a passing pirate as he swept up the stairs carrying an elongated hose that was wider than her middle. It ran up from what appeared to be the third floor, perhaps even father. Voices shouted from every direction, audible even with the lids of the speaker tubes closed. Pulling open the door to her room, her boots splashing in a thin layer of water, Nyiji removed herself from the path of more boiler suits.

With no obstructions in the hallways, two mechanics charged up and down the floors bickering and complaining over the damage done to their creation. Every level had suffered some form of damage, ranging from small cracks in portholes to wider and disastrous fissures like the ones that had ruined the Common room's main window. There were gaping wounds in the Tang's belly and massive dents that had managed to hold up and simultaneously impair the corridor's pathways. Overall, their beloved vessel had not come out of her encounter unscathed.

"There's not enough fucking metal to plug it all," Shachi grumbled as he stepped over the hose to reach the machine it connected to. Crouching, he fiddled with a few switches before pounding the bailer's side with a wrench, forcing it to start with a loud rumbling cry. "I'm telling you now, next marine I see, I'm not leaving 'em conscious."

Penguin was grateful that his snort was drowned out by the sudden rush of water as it shot through the hose. "There's plenty sleeping up on the deck if you fancy the trip."

Shooting a green-eyed glare over the tops of his sunglasses, Shachi took a moment to actually consider the offer before shaking his head. "Let 'em drown," he decided. His next words were mumbled to himself as he patted the floor. "Poor baby. And still not in the clear."

Empathizing, Penguin added: "She's definitely earned herself a good polish after this mess."

Turning on his heel and pulling the hat off of his head to reveal his white locks, Penguin eyed up a hook that had gotten stuck during their escape. Razor sharp tips poked through the metal hull, serrated and dangerous. "I'm worried about the weight on the end of this," he said after a moment, hands on his hips as he considered the broken chain that lay on the other side. "What do you think Shach'?"

Looking up from his crouched position, Shachi's mouth twisted into a sharp line. "With the storm outside, it would be stupid to remove it right now. It'll just make a bigger mess. At least it's above water right now, just focus on the basement first."

Silently agreeing with the observation, Penguin made his way back to the submarine's recesses, his red-haired friend hot on his heels. Another cluster of crewmembers rushed past them on the stairs, stopping briefly to update them on the status of the most vulnerable holes. They had managed to plug the worst of the damage with the last of their metal reserves and avoided sealing off the flooded areas. It was a relief that was short lived as they stepped into water still seeping in through various cracks.

"Can you take the boiler room?" Penguin asked as he made his way to the nearby speaker tube. Shachi nodded and moved away. Flipping open the tube, Penguin then called for the navigator's attention: "Hey Bepo, we've got the lines setup now. Shouldn't be more than an hour before we've removed the excess water. Have you figured out our next stop?"

Answering in a squeak, Bepo's voice sounded distressed: "I need to speak with the Captain for his opinion…"

Grip tightening on his hat, Penguin narrowed his gaze at the mouthpiece as he deciphered the hidden subtext. "Alright. I'll keep her running long as we need," he assuaged the minkman's worries. "Keep me updated."

Leaving the lid open, Penguin pinched the bridge of his nose. With no land options available and a hopeless venture behind them, he knew they would need to find another creative solution to the lack of materials on board. Shachi would hate the ideas running around his skull but there were little options remaining if they were to stay at sea for an extended period of time. Running his hand through his hair, Penguin briefly wondered if his Captain still intended on running off to investigate the slavers while the Polar Tang was in such a miserable state. Making his way to the submarine's lowest depths, he tucked away his worries alongside his hat to deal with at a more opportune time. Shachi was right. Plugging the damage came first. With a hammer in one hand and a welding torch in the other, he waded through knee-deep water and headed towards the worst injury. Fishing a pair of goggles from his pocket to replace his hat, he shielded his eyes as he went to work reinforcing a sheet of metal that had already been nailed down.

"Sorry baby," he cooed to the Polar Tang. "Just a little more and we'll have you all fixed up."

* * *

Using his teeth to tear the ruined gloves off of his hands, Law suppressed a wince as the material pulled at his wounds. The injuries were fairly deep and constantly weeping but nothing he couldn't treat. Dropping the red gloves onto his chest, he carefully pulled the necessary supplies from the medical kit in his lap. He had to finagle each item out with only two fingers but he managed without assistance. Setting each item at his side for future use, he forced his hands to obey as he selected a surgical needle. That was when the real difficulties started. Biting off a strand of blue thread and keeping the end between his teeth, he carefully held the needle between his fingers before attempting to thread the strand through its eye. Even with his digits cleaned, he struggled and split the thread on three separate occasions. Growling low in his throat, he pinched the needle and made another attempt only for the tool to slip out of his hold and clatter to the floor. Before he could shout or curse his eyes caught Bepo's dark gaze, standing in the doorway. Without a word the minkman entered his quarters and fetched the needle. Pacing to the bathroom, he disposed of the tool before returning with a sterile replacement.

"Thank you," Law said, voice unintentionally coming out sharper than intended. Bepo didn't seem the least bit bothered however.

Long nails moving with expertise, he helped Law thread the needle before handing the tool over. He didn't need to watch as his Captain began to address the wounds on his own, cheek caught between his teeth to suppress any involuntary sounds.

"I've checked over the maps," Bepo began. "The islets nearest to us would be the safest place to stop to make repairs but we would run the risk of running into those slavers. I've spoken with Penguin and he has some ideas to keep the Tang moving if we decide to sail past."

Kicking his feet up onto the coffee table, Law tied off the stitching on his palm and bit the connecting thread apart. The skin was taut and tough to move but he found himself capable of wiggling his fingers with minimal strain. Bepo helped him rethread the needle for his other hand without delay.

"How long would repairs take?" Law asked as he watched the minkman easily tie the thread off for him.

"Without materials, Penguin isn't sure. He wanted to talk to you about that."

Pushing the needle into his palm once it was handed back over, Law's stitches became sloppier in his haste. Without using his dominant hand, his fingers shook and stumbled, pricking his skin and irritating the edge of his wound.

"We'll discuss the repairs first then before deciding on our next course." Tugging on the thread and closing the wound into a rugged line, Law finished and left Bepo to repack the medical kit as he relaxed into the couch. He was weary even after a few hours of rest, his body desperate for a sleep that he had been denying himself.

Setting the medical kit onto the desk, Bepo paused when the speaker tube came to life with muffled voices. Turning to face the brassy contraption, his muzzle tilted to the side, trying to decipher the familiar tones. Whoever it was, they were not speaking directly into the tube but instead arguing as they made their way through the submarine's levels. His ears twitched backwards then as he heard them just outside of Law's quarters. Striding past Law's form on the couch, where he sat exercising the muscles in his hands by touching each fingertip to his thumb in a slow rotation, Bepo opened the front door onto two men before they could knock.

"I already told you—Hey Bepo!" Hand frozen in midair, Penguin greeted the minkman as if he hadn't just been caught in an argument. Pushing past Bepo's sizeable form and ignoring Shachi who chased after him, he entered the front room.

Law tipped his chin in greeting as the mechanics took over the opposite couch. Their boiler suits were still wet and dirtied with grease and oil, which soaked into the furniture. "Good timing, we were just about to discuss repairs."

Throwing his arm over the back of the couch and jamming a finger in his ear to collect the wax buildup, Shachi spoke: "We've done the best we can and sealed the hull, but I'm not sure what more we can do."

"There's still one breach on the second level. A hook we haven't been able to deal with yet, but what Shach' means is we don't have enough material," Penguin added. Adopting a more serious tone, he gestured towards the door. "Though I have an idea, if you're up for a walk."

To describe Shachi's expression as sour was an understatement but Law dismissed it in favor of pushing himself to his feet. He swayed a moment before Bepo was at his side, hooking a steady paw around his middle to help him forward. Both mechanics led them from the room and towards the deck where Shachi let out a low whistle as he took in the state before them. Ignoring the bodies and the blood soaking into the wood, the lower deck was in a state of complete disarray. Metal, unpainted and shining a glossy silver peeked through the various holes. Some of it was marred with scratches that would need buffed out while others would need sealant.

Peeling the hat from atop his head to run a hand through his white locks, Penguin began to explain his idea: "The deck's our lowest priority right now but even if it wasn't, there's not enough wood on board to repair the damage without making a stop somewhere. If we want to keep ourselves sailing until the next nearest depot, I think we should repurpose what's left to keep the hull secure."

"Not an option! What the hell are we supposed to do with no deck, Pen?" Shachi cried as he rounded on his friend. His face nearly matched the shade of his hair. In that moment, Penguin was glad the livid stare he was on the receiving end was muted by the sunglasses.

Quietly taking in their comments, Law scratched his cheek as he formulated a plan. The minimal repairs they had already accomplished were barely holding, severely limiting their options. Submerging had been ruled out an hour ago. Their water pump could only process so fast, restricting their movements even farther but with the holes sealed even at the cost of their exterior, his original plan to investigate the slavers would be possible.

"Do it," he decided, tone firm to silence the argument brewing between the two mechanics. "Keep us afloat and keep me apprised of the repairs, but we maintain course to the slavers islets. If submerging is ruled out once we get there, I'll make adjustments."

"You still want to throw yourself to slavers while the sub's half sinking?" Shachi snapped before biting down on his tongue when he caught Law's bland expression. Knowing that his Captain was taking the situation seriously and trying to make accommodations they could all benefit from, he sighed. "Alright. Fine, rip her apart. But we're going to need more materials than just wood replacements if we want to maintain enough pressure to submerge."

Penguin preemptively winced. He wouldn't be sleeping in his bed that night, not after adding his two cents: "We do have metal we can use on board… if we melt some things down in the furnace."

Throwing his hands into the air, sunglasses nearly shaken from his face, Shachi hollered: "Sure! Just gum up her entire system while you're at it! And _what_ exactly are you planning on melting there, Pen? Our fucking bed frames—Oh you've got to be shitting me! Captain!"

"Do it," Law repeated before he was practically sinking into the minkman's fur. Feeling Bepo's arm brace him from falling, he clenched his jaw. His body was about to reach its final limit. "Give them a hand ripping up the deck, will you Bepo?"

"Aye sir," the minkman chirped, eyes never straying from the top of his head. "B-but what about the prisoner? If I run into h-her…"

Waving his hand and pushing off Bepo's side, Law turned around to head back inside. "Glad you mentioned that," urging the minkman to follow the rest of his words were lost as the two returned to his quarters.

* * *

 _Author's note;_ _Man, I really have to thank every single one of you for all of your reviews. I kept reading them (still am!) over and over because they just give me fuel and make me tear up! Your feedback is incredible and I never expected any of it. So seriously, thank you all so much!_

 _And yes, now I'm going to name you all, one by one ;)_

 _bbropper_ _, Watermelon 24, yells at trees (and bushes), sarge1130, Zod'a Quatique, Lucy Jacob, Momochan77, MissNanamiChan, Zinthree, Guest(S), Kaytak1999, Himegee17, bwlchck, embossross, Leynadoodles._

 _You are all amazing, along with all of you that have favorited and followed so far! Just, thank you guys. From the bottom of my heart for all of your support!_ _I can't wait to continue sharing more of Ishi with you! :D_

 _And to answer a question about the rough timeline of the story in comparison to canon-without spoilers- the Hearts have yet to hit the Grand Line for their first time._ _I have a lot of plans as to how Law learns about Haki (which started in the last chapter) all the way to how he eventually even learns to combat it. I think it's going to be a fun ride as he continues to evolve with his own skills on the way to Sabaody and beyond! I have lots of mischief planned. ;)_


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